Still learning about the BASIC listings

Some weeks the whole hobby comes down to one small thing, and lately that has been the BASIC listings. Everything on this machine fits in less memory than a single photo on my phone, and it still feels quick.

The part nobody mentions

I found a box of unlabelled disks at a car boot sale, and about a third of them still read. I spent most of a long July fussing over the BASIC listings, and I'm not sure I have much to show for it. An old colleague has a much simpler approach, and I suspect it's better than mine. Some of this was down to luck, and I'm happy to take it.

A small detour

My first instinct was to blame the 8-bit home computer, and my first instinct is usually wrong. Every time I think I've got the hang of the BASIC listings, something reminds me that I haven't. Typing in a program from a printed listing is a good way to discover how many ways there are to mistype a zero.

The power supply is the first thing I check now, after one too many puffs of smoke. In the end a friend of a friend pointed out the obvious, as usual. Most of what I know about the BASIC listings came from getting things wrong first. It wasn't a disaster, but it wasn't what I was hoping for either.

Small improvements

If I had to start again, I would begin with the BASIC listings and leave everything else for later. There's still plenty I can't explain, and I've made peace with that. I've since gone back to doing it the old way, at least for the floppy collection. Comparing this with last year's notes, not much has changed except my expectations.

What surprised me most was how small the change was. The advice in an old library book made perfect sense until I actually tried it. Looking back, I underestimated the BASIC listings. A friend of a friend asked about the BASIC listings last week, and I found I had less to say than I thought.

Nothing is wasted if you write down what happened.

I'll leave it there, since the memory upgrade needs my attention.