[Coco] Extended Color BASIC program on an Arduino

[Allen Huffman]

On Apr 3, 2013, at 2:21 AM, Tony Cappellini <cappy2112 at gmail.com> wrote:
> At this link
> http://appleause.com/2013/04/03/extended-color-basic-to-arduino-sketch/
> 
> You wrote:
> "The userlog and message base is not yet functional, and likely never will
> be since the Arduino only has 2K of memory versus 32K on the CoCo 1 it was
> designed for. "
> 
> That's not quite accurate.
> Being of the modified Harvard architecture, the older (non-Arm based)
> Arduino Uno (for example)
> have 2K of SRAM for static data, stack & heap, and 32k of program space,
> which is in flash.
> The Arduino sketches actually execute out of flash.

That is a very good point.

Even though the CoCo has 32K available for Extended Color Basic (about 28K usable), that memory is used for both the BASIC program itself as well as any variables.

So, with all the Arduino code living in the 32K flash memory, and moving all the constant strings and such there too, most the 2K could be used for variables.

The line-bi-line translation I am doing (userlog works now) will probably run but with a teeny tiny message base and userlog (maybe just a few of each). But, I plan to follow up the project with a re-write in native Arduino C, which I have some good ideas for.

Thanks for the note. I will follow up with a separate message about BASIC memory.

		-- Allen