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A review by drj
10 Print Chr$(205.5+rnd(1)); Goto 10 by Patsy Baudoin, John Bell, Nick Montfort
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
The book's entire subject is a single one-line program:
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
This is a BASIC language program that RUNs on the C64
to produce a maze that scrolls up the screen as more of it is
produced.
It's a neat tricky for a one line program.
The book is an exploration of the program, the historical
context in which it appeared, the computer (playfully referred
to as the "taupe unit"), the social act of sharing code, mazes,
and alternative possibilities that the program suggests.
I grew up in the 1980s and loved the microcomputers of that era,
though i never had ready access to a C64 until emulators became
easily available. But i had never known of this program until
quite recently.
Both the program and the book are delightful. The discussion is
wide-ranging and diverse, from Greek mythology to 6502 machine
code instructions.
The discussion is thorough without being complete, as it should be.
It is deep enough to show that the text has been engaged with
convingly, without closing off all further avenues. Like the
mazes produced by the program itself, the edges are unframed,
left open for other workers to explore.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 1980s
microcomputers or the close reading of computer programs.
10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
This is a BASIC language program that RUNs on the C64
to produce a maze that scrolls up the screen as more of it is
produced.
It's a neat tricky for a one line program.
The book is an exploration of the program, the historical
context in which it appeared, the computer (playfully referred
to as the "taupe unit"), the social act of sharing code, mazes,
and alternative possibilities that the program suggests.
I grew up in the 1980s and loved the microcomputers of that era,
though i never had ready access to a C64 until emulators became
easily available. But i had never known of this program until
quite recently.
Both the program and the book are delightful. The discussion is
wide-ranging and diverse, from Greek mythology to 6502 machine
code instructions.
The discussion is thorough without being complete, as it should be.
It is deep enough to show that the text has been engaged with
convingly, without closing off all further avenues. Like the
mazes produced by the program itself, the edges are unframed,
left open for other workers to explore.
I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in 1980s
microcomputers or the close reading of computer programs.