Comment by le-mark
11 days ago
Google can be very helpful for these types of queries:
https://www.google.com/search?q=apple+2+game+programming+tut...
Formulating questions is a valuable skill as is finding existing resources.
As some one from that era, it is truly amazing how much information there is online about all aspects of 8 bit computers
I don't think online tutorials are a good ressources to learn programming. We just have to look at what juniors can do nowadays (they can't even write a simple program, and I'm from that generation). That's why I asked for books.
You don't have any programming experience, and yet hold strong opinions on good resources to learn programming? There's some wonderful book recommendations in this thread, but I wouldn't underestimate how much great long-form content and tutorials there are on the Web these days (vs just learning by copying snippets off StackExchange)
Nothing wrong with internet searches (though I find Google is most useful for results from Google sites).
But HN is full of 6502 enthusiasts, so I approve of tapping their collective wisdom to discover personal favorites and recommendations.
Unlike modern computers, 8-bit systems were expected to be programmed by their owners! As a result there are many books from the 8-bit, pre-internet era explaining exactly how to do so, and many of those books are conveniently available on the modern internet (perhaps via a google or other search, or on archive.org, etc.) Many systems also came with user instruction manuals explaining how to program them.
Here is the Apple II BASIC manual from 1978:
https://archive.org/details/Apple_II_Basic_Programming_Manua...
Note how it explains everything from scratch, including how to hook the Apple II up to a TV, how to use the keyboard, and how to start up BASIC.
BASIC was designed as a simple but effective programming language that could be learned by computing novices (first year college students) in an afternoon. Here is the original Dartmouth BASIC manual (23 pages long!) from 1964:
https://www.dartmouth.edu/basicfifty/basicmanual_1964.pdf