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Teacher for Lynx Programming? Eh?Eh?


AtariLynx Lover

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My name is AtariLynx Lover.

 

First, the request: I need to learn programming for the Atari Lynx. Is there anyone here that can teach me? I have quite a few good game ideas for the Lynx, but I have no clue how to program for the Lynx.

 

Is there anyone that can teach me to program for the Lynx?

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You pretty much have to teach yourself or find a part time or night school course local to you. Ideally a higher level language course that teaches "C" or java. That will get you the basic knowledge needed with regards to handling variables, forming loops etc.

 

There are a few "courses" for 6502 assembly on AA. If you search the programming forums you can find tips and book recommendations too.

 

If you don't know any programming languages you may find programming a constrained system like the Lynx very hard going (the same for any old console). My recommendation would be to start off your idea on a PC (using BASIC or some such) and then scale it to fit the Lynx when you get the hang of a language and doing tiled backdrops, sprites and collision detection etc.

 

When you get stuck on doing things on the Lynx ask questions. You might want to consider buying a flash cart for the system because emulation isn't always perfect.

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You pretty much have to teach yourself or find a part time or night school course local to you. Ideally a higher level language course that teaches "C" or java. That will get you the basic knowledge needed with regards to handling variables, forming loops etc.

 

There are a few "courses" for 6502 assembly on AA. If you search the programming forums you can find tips and book recommendations too.

 

If you don't know any programming languages you may find programming a constrained system like the Lynx very hard going (the same for any old console). My recommendation would be to start off your idea on a PC (using BASIC or some such) and then scale it to fit the Lynx when you get the hang of a language and doing tiled backdrops, sprites and collision detection etc.

 

When you get stuck on doing things on the Lynx ask questions. You might want to consider buying a flash cart for the system because emulation isn't always perfect.

 

Problem with that: My game is a huge RPG, Maze/Space Invaders/Pac-Man crossover game, and a few demo games. I'm 12, I have no money, right now my scourge is AtariAge.

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Problem with that: My game is a huge RPG, Maze/Space Invaders/Pac-Man crossover game, and a few demo games. I'm 12, I have no money, right now my scourge is AtariAge.

 

Look on the bright side, you have plenty of years to learn ;). You might want to start writing in BASIC on the A8s because there is plenty of material to help you on that platform.

 

You can only be successful at programming something new by learning how to do things yourself. Books and lessons will get you so far but then at some point you have to knuckle down and start doing your own experiments with the language and your ideas. As a beginner, starting a massive project is a sure fire way of not ever finishing it because you don't have the knowledge or experience at the start to get the job done. Start small like adding a few numbers together or finding words in strings and then move onwards and upwards.

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Um, yeah, thats the point. I start small and work my way up. Duh. And right not I have all the time in the world. I have no money, no books, no lessons, no nothing to help me learn. Thats why I started this thread. I don't even know where to start! And first I want to do something simple, who said anything about a massive project first?

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Um, yeah, thats the point. I start small and work my way up. Duh. And right not I have all the time in the world. I have no money, no books, no lessons, no nothing to help me learn.

 

You have the Internet. There are plenty of books in PDF format and game programming tutorials to be found.

 

Thats why I started this thread. I don't even know where to start! And first I want to do something simple, who said anything about a massive project first?

 

You did when you said "My game is a huge RPG, Maze/Space Invaders/Pac-Man crossover game, and a few demo games". That is one massive project for somebody who can't program.

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My mistake. When you say "my game is a" and follow it with a list it looked like one giant game.

 

There are no books on programming the Lynx. It was a closed system back in the day so you had to be an official developer to get access to the information required. However, there are plenty of books and tutorials out there on programming languages and games. You have to read the technical literature for the Lynx and follow the example/demo code (that people have put out) to make your own creations on it.

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the steps

 

lern programming on PC / Mac with a modern FREE software what is easy to learn.

 

For example Lazarus (Pascal/Delphi Code). Visual C++ or Visual Basic

there are many free Compilers and IDEs.

 

Dont begin with a huge project, you will soon be frustrated cause you have no practice.

 

Begin with easy programs where you learn how to manage loops variables etc.

 

If you can write a game (snake / sudoku / etc simple) for the PC by yourself, you have the knowledge to start the very very different thing coding for old systems.

 

In Germany where books like "programming for Kids".

 

maybe your find similar, the books are good start to enter programming also for old man not only for kids

 

Regards

Matthias

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Do you read french ?

When Rygar started to learn coding for Lynx (he was a total beginner), we made this tutorial topic, bases on his progression & questions :

http://yaronet.com/posts.php?sl=9&s=105529

 

 

 

It used the old BLL kit, and archive may not be on line after all this time.

I do not have time to remake up to date archives (as my own setup is probably not up to date) or skills to write tutorial it in english, but this may help you (if you are able to read french on your own, and not via google translator who could induce some mistakes or incomprehensions)

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you might find my very very old tutorial on google "history".

 

utilities and tools: install linux and compile them from source. this might be more useful than copiying together some binaries from different source which might not work together as expected. esp as there are errors in older versions of compiler any cartridge builder.

Good idea would be to start from a simple example and modify it.

 

PS: you find sourcecode and binaries on my site.

Edited by sage
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Do you read french ?

When Rygar started to learn coding for Lynx (he was a total beginner), we made this tutorial topic, bases on his progression & questions :

http://yaronet.com/p...p?sl=9&s=105529\

 

No I don't read French, unfortunately.

 

 

 

It used the old BLL kit, and archive may not be on line after all this time.

I do not have time to remake up to date archives (as my own setup is probably not up to date) or skills to write tutorial it in english, but this may help you (if you are able to read french on your own, and not via google translator who could induce some mistakes or incomprehensions)

you might find my very very old tutorial on google "history".

 

utilities and tools: install linux and compile them from source. this might be more useful than copiying together some binaries from different source which might not work together as expected. esp as there are errors in older versions of compiler any cartridge builder.

Good idea would be to start from a simple example and modify it.

 

PS: you find sourcecode and binaries on my site.

 

That would work If I used Linux. And I don't.

 

Bold = my replies.

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For a dev environment: www.cc65.org a C compiler and assembler for PC. There is a lnyx library.

 

Search for free C tutorials on the web, or get a cheap book somewhere second hand. The library.

 

Search the net for the lynx hardware manual. Read it through and then read it again. Try creating some simple programs with cc65 on the lynx. Test them on the emulator, either handy or mednafen.

 

Post some of of your questions after you do all that. Good luck!

 

 

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Also have a look at http://www.classicgamedev.com/Lynx:Atari_Lynx_Developer%27s_Reference

 

Wookie and me have tried to collect everything you need for getting started. Some of the stuff goes pretty fast for a beginner. But there is already several working examples like how to write "Hello World!" on the Lynx screen.

 

Writing code is both educational and fun. And you don't have to buy anything to get started. Just run your code in Handy.

 

Karri

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You'll not find a dedicated teacher or developer without pay. You will, however, find many experienced programmers to advise you on small problems. As a newbie it's often tempting to take the attitudes you receive as insults. In reality, even the rebuffs are usually good advice in disguise. I myself still have to reread my posts to make sure I'm not over-reacting or about to irritate a valuable resource for information.

Edited by theloon
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Here is a good candidate for learning to program. A chess clock for the Lynx.

 

The newest cc65 release has a brand new function called clock(). It is automatically incremented every time you get a VBL screen interrupt.

 

#include <time.h>

clock_t now;
int minutes, seconds;

now = clock();
seconds = (now / CLOCKS_PER_SEC) % 60;
minutes = now / (CLOCKS_PER_SEC * 60);

 

I doubt that anybody has tested this function on a real Lynx yet.

 

Other useful commands is a routine that converts an integer to text for printing.

 

#include <stdlib.h>

char buffer[20];
itoa(minutes, buffer, 10);

 

Or printing text on a Lynx screen.

 

#include <tgi.h>

tgi_outtext(buffer);

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  • 4 weeks later...

Ok so I have used Borland Delphi and Visual Basic extensively in the past. These skills can be applied to Lynx Programming????

 

I am no good at artwork so my intentions are small and humble but I was hoping to write useful 'apps' for the Lynx... Any starting points of reference or programs you recommend???

Edited by dudeydude
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