From Commodore Basic to GFA/Omikron

[MrPixel]

So, I've been programming in Commodore basic for a bit (mostly changing color in assembly, such and such) and was wondering, if I went the ST route (might re download hatari down the road) what would be some changes that I would be dealing with?

primarily for GFA basic and Omikron

[mlynn1974]

C64 BASIC is a fine language.
A really handy thing about working on an emulator such as STEEM is that it can allow you to set a Windows directory as a hard disk, allowing easy access to your source code from both Windows and the emulator.

The main thing is that instead of PEEK and POKE for 16-bit memory access you can use DEEK and DOKE, and for 32-bit memory access you use LEEK and LOKE. This is true in both GFA BASIC and STOS.

It is probably best to learn GFA BASIC either from the instruction manual and\or some examples. The Lost Boys have some nifty routines to precalculate sprites in their Spiral Demo written in GFA BASIC and to read and write from the file system. GFA is also good for GEM applications.

[penguin]

The main thing is that instead of PEEK and POKE for 16-bit memory access you can use DEEK and DOKE, and for 32-bit memory access you use LEEK and LOKE. This is true in both GFA BASIC and STOS.

While that's true, you wouldn't replace Peek/Poke with Deek/Doke when converting C64 basic. Peek/Poke were used for everything from changing colors to sprites and music on the C64. It is highly discouraged on the Atari to directly access memory addresses. You'd have to use the native graphics, sounds etc. commands on the Atari, essentially rewriting the whole program.