Upgrade to 64
by Volker Weber
Comments
Well, some time ago, it was pretty simple to launch a program:
Load "$",8
....(some waiting)
Or enter the request directly (if we know the filename):
Load "Summergames",8,1
Run
In LotusScript, it is a bit more complicated:
Dim intResult As Integer
Dim strPath as String
strPath = "calc.exe"
intResult = Shell(strPath,0)
OK, some bad guys do not use Option Declare and use this syntax:
i% = Shell("calc.exe",0).
Now we do not take care about memory. We could limit e.g. the string declaration, but who cares about it? Even the sceensaver takes about 10 MB's, so what?
Well, we do have the possibilities in LS, and we - as programmer - have the responsibility - to code rational.
Just think about it.
What suddenly jumps into my mind:
Todays processors' on-chip caches are bigger than overall machine RAM some 20 years ago.
*fear*
What would have happened back in the 60s if the Mercury and Apollo programs would have had today's computing powers at hand?
I guess they would have crash-landed more often due to software complexity and/or BlueScreens[tm]
Two Floppy drives and 'SPEEDDOS'. Setting and reading the register with POKE and PEEK.
The famous breadbox.
Oh, wow, a Commodore SX-64. I still wish, I had one of those. The plain Commodore 64 was my childhood. Almost everything I know about computers I learned on this machine.
@ martin:
Go and buy one at ebay - around €150 Euro and its yours. We just took one for the holidays and played 'Great Gianna Sisters' at night.
*big smile*
Fortunately I still have a small collection of various C64s and C128s. From time to time I connect one of them to the TV and play some of those good old games. The Great Giana Sisters is an all-time classic.
