Mind to Mind

PIC Assembly

I started programming the PS/2 to NeXT adapter in C, which was fine. I managed to get most of the important parts prototyped, including being able to handle the PS/2 mouse and keyboard, and also sending data to the NeXT. I switched to assembly language the other day, partly to save space, and partly to make sure I have complete control over timing etc. I must say it’s refreshing… most of the programming I do is in Java, C#, PHP etc. and in most of these stacks, there’s an awful lot of ‘magic’. On the PIC, in assembly, there is no magic; it does exactly what you tell it to do, and most of the higher-level testing methodologies don’t really apply. You have to be on your game a bit, which is actually very enjoyable. Reminds me of the ‘Good Old Days’.

Tags: