Atari Coin-Op FORTH and Swarthmore Extensions

[Savetz]

Released for the first time(?)

 

Atari Coin Op FORTH And Swarthmore Extensions by Brock A. Miller, David E. McIntyre, and Eugene A. Klotz. May 31, 1983.

This is a programming language that was - as far as I can tell - unreleased to the public until now. Atari Coin Op FORTH seems to be a variant on fig-FORTH.

This file contains the manual itself (127 pages) followed by 10 pages of "ephemera" that was in the binder with the manual:

- a letter from Gene Klotz to Bob Kahn at Atari

- Fig-FORTH editor instructions

- Atari FIG Additions sheet

- Terminal Input-Output sheet

- FORTH Handy Reference sheet

- a printout describing the editor

 

https://archive.org/details/AtariCoinOpFORTHAndSwarthmoreExtensions

 

Disk images are attached.

 

 

Atari_Coin_Op_FORTH_14v.ATR

Swarthmore_Extensions_to_Atari_Coin_Op_FORTH_Disk1_June011983.ATR

Swarthmore_Extensions_to_Atari_Coin_Op_FORTH_Disk2_June011983.ATR

Swarthmore_Extensions_to_Atari_Coin_Op_FORTH_QE_Disk_June011983.ATR

TEXT1.ATR

TEXT2.ATR

TEXT3.ATR

TEXT4.ATR

TEXT5.ATR

[tschak909]

yeah, Coin-Op forth was put together by Steve Calfee, while he was still working @ Atari.

 

-Thom

[tschak909]

from SCR #0 on the disk

 

0 LIST

 

 

   0 ******  fig-FORTH  MODEL  ****** 
   1                                  
   2      Through the courtesy of     
   3                                  
   4                                  
   5       FORTH INTEREST GROUP       
   6          P. O. BOX 1105          
   7       SAN CARLOS, CA. 94070      
   8                                  
   9        Implemented on the        
   A          ATARI  800/400          
   B                by                
   C           Steve Calfee           
   D              1/26/81             
   E                                  

   F          Copywrite 1981           
  10                                   
  11             RELEASE 1             
  12       WITH COMPILER SECURITY      
  13                AND                
  14       VARIABLE LENGTH NAMES       
  15                                   
  16                                   
  17                                   
  18                                   
  19      Further distribution must    
  1A      include the above notice.    
  1B                                   
  1C                                   
  1D                                   
  1E                                   
  1F                                   
  oK                                   

 

doing a LOAD on screen 9 will load the assembler into the workspace.

 

There are 46 used screens, it's customary in FIG Forth implementations to reserve the first line of a screen to indicate its contents:

 

 

2E INDEX
   1 **** FIG FORTH MODEL *****
   2 BREAK Abort.                      
   3 Device-done error                 
   4 (  ERROR MESSAGES  )   135  159   
   5 (  ERROR MESSAGES  )              
   6 ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
   7 ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
   8 ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
   9 (  compile assembler              
   A ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
   B ( CLONING WORDS  7/21/80-SRC )    
   C ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
   D (  FORTH-65 ASSEMBLER             
   E (     ASSEMBLER, CONT.            
   F (  UPMODE,  CPU                   
  10 (  M/CPU,   MULTI-MODE OP-CODES   
  11 (  ASSEMBLER CONDITIONALS         
  12 (  USE OF ASSEMBLER               
  13 ( EXEC, routines ) BASE @ HEX     
  14 ( LPWORDS FOR JOYSTICK CONTROLLE  
  15 HEX VOCABULARY EDITOR IMMEDIATE   
  16 (  TEXT,  LINE, WHERE USED IN     

  18 (  LINE EDITING COMMANDS          
  19 (  SCREEN EDITING COMMANDS )      
  1A ( OS & HDW CONSTANTS ) : CN CONS  
  1B ( CIO CALL ROUTINES )             
  1C ( COLLEEN GRAPHICS )              
  1D ( SOUND CONTROLLERS RND PLAYER/M  
  1E ( DECUS-FORTH ADDITIONS )         
  1F ( DISPLAY LIST STUFF )            
  20 ( WRITE BOOTABLE OBJECT 1 OF 2 )  
  21 ( WRITE BOOTABLE OBJECT 2 OF 2 )  
  22 ( <UNUSED> ) ;S                   
  23 ( COLLEEN TO DEVSYS COMMUNICATIO  
  24 ( COLLEEN TO DEVSYS COMMUNICATIO  
  25 ( LINE PRINTER WORDS 1/27/81      
  26 ( MORE LINE PRINTER WORDS         
  27 ( FORMATTED LIST PROGRAM) : THAT  
  28 : ( 51 WORD 6 ALLOT ;             
  29 : GSCAN DUP @ SWAP 2+ SWAP 0 DO   
  2A : EL1G NEWCR INDENT 0SET PRWORD   
  2B : PRCWRD L1G GSCAN IF EL1G ELSE   
  2C ( RS232 SUPPORT )              
  2D ( RS232 SUPPORT )  
  2E ( CONSTANT INFO DISPLAY 

oK

[tschak909]

The swarthmore disks are also self booting, with lots of routines stuffed on them. as is customary, screen 1 lists a directory of contents

 

Disk 1:

 

 

1 LIST
SCR #0
   0        DIRECTORY    DISK 1        
   1                                   
   2 SWARTHMORE EXTENSIONS             
   3                                   
   4 SCR #   ITEM                      
   5                                   
   6                                   
   7 7-17    IV.1 MISCELLANEOUS        
   8                                   
   9 20      IV.2 FAST INDEX           
   A                                   
   B 22-24   IV.3 CASE                 
   C                                   
   D 26-27   IV.4 DISPLAY LIST         
   E               ASSEMBLER           
   F                                   
  10 29      IV.5 CHEAP CHARACTER      
  11               GENERATOR           
  12                                   
  13 31-34   IV.6 STRING SEARCH        
  14                                   
  15 37-48   IV.7 PRINT COMMANDS FOR   

  17                                   
  18 50-51   IV.8 SCREEN COPY          
  19               ROUTINES FOR        
  1A               MULTIPLE SCREEN     
  1B               MOVES               
  1C                                   
  1D 53-55   IV.9 VERTICAL SCROLLING   
  1E                                   
  1F                                   
  oK                                   

 

Disk 2

 

   0           DIRECTORY               
   1                                   
   2 SWARTHMORE EXTENSIONS    DISK 1   
   3                                   
   4 SCR #    ITEM                     
   5                                   
   6                                   
   7 10-13    IV.10 UNSHADOWED PLAYER  
   8                 MISSILE WORDS     
   9                                   
   A 15-20    IV.11 SHADOWED PLAYER    
   B                 MISSILE WORDS     
   C                                   
   D 22-31    IV.12 TEXT WORDS FOR     
   E                 DISK STORAGE      
   F                 OF TEXT           
  10                                   
  11 33-49    IV.13 TEXT COMPRESSION   
  12                 TEXT WORDS        
  13                                   
  14 52-53    IV.14 VBLANK ROUTINES    
  15                                   
  16 55-61    IV.15 BIG WTOBJ          
 

 

QE is a slightly different beast, configured for decimal, and the booter is configured differently, the first 8 screens show the compiled FORTH...very strange.

 

-Thom

[Savetz]

Here's another new old one for you FORTH people.

 

"NoiseProgram LOGGsSoundDesign"

 

I don't know anything about it, but it boots to FORTH so I don't know what to do.

 

Two copies attached, from two disks, likely identical but who knows.

 

Please tell me what you discover!

 

—Kevin

NoiseProgram_LOGGsSoundDesign_copy2.ATR

NoiseProgram_LOGGsSoundDesign.ATR

[luckybuck]

Kevin, I am sitting here and reading this, but I really can't believe it all true. That is a living dream inside a dream.

 

Giant work! Thank you so much.

 

Will forward this to our wise guys, so we can sync it with here:

 

https://atariwiki.org/wiki/Wiki.jsp?page=Forth

 

Wow! Please go ahead, great found!

 

@Thom: so great, what you found out, please go ahead.

 

[Savetz]

Here's some instructions for the Ed Logg noise program. Someone figure it out and report back!

https://archive.org/stream/Atari_Club_Med_Music_Binder/Atari_Club_Med_Music_binder#page/n65/mode/2up

[Savetz]

Reading material:

 

Using fig-FORTH on the Atari 800 by Stephen A. Cohen 5/2/1983

https://archive.org/details/UsingFigFORTHOnTheAtari800ByStephenACohen

 

APX20157 FORTH Turtle Graphics Plus Manual

https://archive.org/details/APX20157FORTHTurtleGraphicsPlusManual

[Savetz]

Here's some more info on the language from Mike Albaugh, via email to me on June 19 2015:

 

"This may be a bit short/cryptic, as I am traveling with just an iPod Touch.

 

Coinop forth was developed in Atari coinop division by Steve Calfee and I, based on DECUS forth for the PDP-11.

 

Steve modified the dictionary structure to speed compiles, and used direct threaded code rather than the standard indirect threaded code. This makes it not really forth, but improved performance. I ported the base system to the 400/800. Ed Logg added hooks for the graphics and sound routines in the OS, making Colleen Forth.

Later, as Forth became popular and fig forth came out, we did a port of it to the 800 as well. A major visible difference is that fig forth uses the new operators for stores ( ! and C! ) rather than the original ( = and \= ) which DECUS, coinop, Colleen forth does. Fig forth also allows meta compilation, which came in handy for the cartridge version of my Point Of Purchase demo. Compared to Colleen Forth, though, it compiles (LOADs) really slowly.

That was longer than I expected. Anyway, CoinOp forth was created mainly to allow relatively quick development of software tools on the 6502, where performance was not crucial, but was still important."

[unused0]

I wrote the QE editor in the Swarthmore extensions.

[Mark Simonson]

I wonder if this is the same Forth system that Ed Rotberg used for the Rotberg Synthesizer, which was used for the famous Disco Dirge.