PSET "hat" graphic from old ad in BYTE

[dcromley]

Years ago there were ads in computer magazines, I think including BYTE, that had a neat little graphic BASIC program creating a "hat", one pixel at a time.  I don't know if it advertised hardware or software or Geico, but I entered it and ran it and was impressed. 

This code is my recreation of it, but it's not as good as the original.  I think the colors are right, but the texture is wrong and the backside shows through.  The original somehow PSET the near stuff over the far stuff.  When it ran on a BASIC interpreter on a 2MHz computer, is was a pleasure to watch it for the many seconds it took to run.  With the QB64 compiler on a xGHz computer it is TOO FAST.  I put in a _DELAY .03 to allow the thrill to last 12-seconds or so.

I would like to get the original code.  If somebody else was impressed with it like I was and has the magazine issue or has the code on a 8" floppy, I would appreciate it.  I've browsed a few issues from https://archive.org/download/BYTE-MAGAZINE-COMPLETE but haven't come across it.

(Are images restricted to 1x1?  Is there a way to get the images side by side?)

[bplus]

Wow what a great link! Thanks

I'd also like to see smaller snapshots posted side by side.

@dcromley if it pleases thee, I am interested in the code you used to get that hat, that is a complex shape!

[CharlieJV]

Maybe this thread of discussion has what you're looking for, or something close?

https://atariage.com/forums/topic/218503.../#comments

(The 8th-ish link found via this search: https://www.google.com/search?q=byte+mag...nt=gws-wiz)

[bplus]

Referring to first post in Charlie's link above:

What is TRAP, command or sub?

300 GOTO 300 ' LOL: GOTO LOL

[CharlieJV]

Referring to first post in Cjarlie's link above:

What is TRAP, command or sub?

300 GOTO 300  ' LOL: GOTO LOL

Sniff like whatever BASIC that is, the console goes "poof" without that 300 GOTO 300 infinite loop.

Smart trick for vintage BASIC that doesn't yet have an alternative way of preventing the screen from disappearing or scrolling at end of program.

Whatever machine that was, it must've had a "Break" button to stop the program.

[bplus]

Yeah I figured that 300 line was something like that, even more modern Basics would go poof if you didn't put a Sleep or some sort of wait function at the end of your code, myabe just an: Input "Press any to quit!"; dummy!

[CharlieJV]

Yeah I figured that 300 line was something like that, even more modern Basics would go poof if you didn't put a Sleep or some sort of wait function at the end of your code, myabe just an: Input "Press any to quit!"; dummy!

If my computer had a break key, I would have done the same thing to avoid cluttering the final image with text.  So this dummy is on the side of that dummy.  As long as the computer of the day had a "break" key.  So programs as per the machine and BASIC of the day, I say.

Aside, BASIC Anywhere Machine version of one Fedora Hat program:

view the source code
run the program

(I love it when older BASIC code works without too much futzing.)

An hour later ... EDIT: changed the screen mode from default of 0 to 7, which looks much better (i.e. not horizontally squished.)

[bplus]

Yeah I figured that 300 line was something like that, even more modern Basics would go poof if you didn't put a Sleep or some sort of wait function at the end of your code, myabe just an: Input "Press any to quit!"; dummy!

If my computer had a break key, I would have done the same thing to avoid cluttering the final image with text.  So this dummy is on the side of that dummy.  As long as the computer of the day had a "break" key.  So programs as per the machine and BASIC of the day, I say.

Aside, BASIC Anywhere Machine version of one Fedora Hat program:

view the source code
run the program

@CharlieJV
That is really cool! So nice to see the code running right from the forum! Thumbs up to you!

Did you figure out what TRAP was doing?

Now I recognize that drawing as a mod of code I have done, nice coloring BTW. I wonder if I should try and dig it up.

[CharlieJV]

Yeah I figured that 300 line was something like that, even more modern Basics would go poof if you didn't put a Sleep or some sort of wait function at the end of your code, myabe just an: Input "Press any to quit!"; dummy!

If my computer had a break key, I would have done the same thing to avoid cluttering the final image with text.  So this dummy is on the side of that dummy.  As long as the computer of the day had a "break" key.  So programs as per the machine and BASIC of the day, I say.

Aside, BASIC Anywhere Machine version of one Fedora Hat program:

view the source code
run the program

@CharlieJV
That is really cool! So nice to see the code running right from the forum! Thumbs up to you!

Did you figure out what TRAP was doing?

Now I recognize that drawing as a mod of code I have done, nice coloring BTW. I wonder if I should try and dig it up.

It is always good to dig up old code to keep it from getting lost.  Well, while there are still enough of we older folk and young-retro-loving-folk around who can appreciate it.

TRAP is for error trapping:  https://www.atariarchives.org/creativeat...operations.

[bplus]

<"TRAP is for error trapping: https://www.atariarchives.org/creativeat...operations.">

Ah that makes sense, of course I wouldn't recognize it, I don't make eroors. (<<< error!)