Talk:TREK7 - Revision history

Jnc: /* Comments */ Yes, it's there

2023-04-05T11:48:40Z

‎Comments: Yes, it's there

Jnc: /* Comments */Thanks; it's been a while since I read that!

2023-04-05T11:10:48Z

‎Comments: Thanks; it's been a while since I read that!

Larsbrinkhoff: Compiling on the 10.

2023-04-05T07:01:52Z

Compiling on the 10.

Larsbrinkhoff: /* Comments */ It's JSB.

2023-04-05T06:55:13Z

‎Comments: It's JSB.

Vaxorcist: Effect and cause of "divide by zero" bug added

2023-03-26T07:20:38Z

Effect and cause of "divide by zero" bug added

Jnc: Divide by zero bug; comments

2023-03-25T21:06:52Z

Divide by zero bug; comments

New page

==Divide by zero bug==

The article mentions an "obstinate ... 'divide by zero' problem that has been plaguing the code for decades hindering any successful game". Curiousity is piqued - what was the bug, what were the circumstances that provoked it, and what were the results when it was? (I'm assuming a fatal total failure, for the latter?) It sounds like the code most have been subtracting one quantity from another, and using the difference to divide something - without checking to see if the difference was 0? [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 22:06, 25 March 2023 (CET)

==Comments==

The mention of scarce comments reminded me about a favourite MIT story about an obscure comment - perhaps the only comment in a program! So, instruction (I don't think it was a line number - this predates BASIC) 1827 had the comment "LVB RIP". What? Eventually (this ''was'' long before the Internet, too :-) the penny dropped - Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827! Or maybe it was 'JSB RIP' on instruction 1750 - that actually sounds more likely, now that I think about it - old-time hackers were more fans of Bach than Beethoven! I tried to find this story online, but couldn't. I think I read it in an old copy of the Hacker's Dictionary. [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 22:06, 25 March 2023 (CET)

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 :: I retain this persistent impression that I saw it somewhere else - in part because I have this very vague memory that I read it early on, before this would have come out. Eh, not important.
 :: The guy who did the [[TENEX]] port to the KI10 had a very good paper about all that history; I'll have to make sure it's in the EL there. [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 13:09, 5 April 2023 (CEST)
 I wish someone would counter-check my comments on the TREK7 sources and add (at least some of) the ones still missing. [[User:Vaxorcist|Vaxorcist]] ([[User talk:Vaxorcist|talk]]) 09:20, 26 March 2023 (CEST)

@@ Line 36: / Line 36: @@
 The mention of scarce comments reminded me about a favourite MIT story about an obscure comment - perhaps the only comment in a program! So, instruction (I don't think it was a line number - this predates BASIC) 1827 had the comment "LVB RIP". What? Eventually (this ''was'' long before the Internet, too :-) the penny dropped - Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827! Or maybe it was 'JSB RIP' on instruction 1750 - that actually sounds more likely, now that I think about it - old-time hackers were more fans of Bach than Beethoven! I tried to find this story online, but couldn't. I think I read it in an old copy of the Hacker's Dictionary.  [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 22:06, 25 March 2023 (CET)
-:I wish someone would counter-check my comments on the TREK7 sources and add (at least some of) the ones still missing. [[User:Vaxorcist|Vaxorcist]] ([[User talk:Vaxorcist|talk]]) 09:20, 26 March 2023 (CEST)
+: A search for "JSB RIP" (augmented with "PDP") turned up two hits.  It's from "History of TOPS - Life in the fast AC's": https://www.inwap.com/pdp10/tops-history.txt [[User:Larsbrinkhoff|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff|talk]]) 08:55, 5 April 2023 (CEST)
-: A search for "JSB RIP" (augmented with "PDP") turned up two hits.  It's from "History of TOPS - Life in the fast AC's": https://www.inwap.com/pdp10/tops-history.txt [[User:Larsbrinkhoff|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff|talk]]) 08:55, 5 April 2023 (CEST)
+:: Ah, thanks! It's been a while since I read that!
 ==Compiling on the PDP-10==
 I have posted some results from trying to compile the files on a PDP-10: https://github.com/larsbrinkhoff/trek7/issues/1 [[User:Larsbrinkhoff|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff|talk]]) 09:01, 5 April 2023 (CEST)

← Older revision		Revision as of 07:01, 5 April 2023
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	: A search for "JSB RIP" (augmented with "PDP") turned up two hits. It's from "History of TOPS - Life in the fast AC's": https://www.inwap.com/pdp10/tops-history.txt [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 08:55, 5 April 2023 (CEST)		: A search for "JSB RIP" (augmented with "PDP") turned up two hits. It's from "History of TOPS - Life in the fast AC's": https://www.inwap.com/pdp10/tops-history.txt [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 08:55, 5 April 2023 (CEST)
		+
		+	==Compiling on the PDP-10==
		+
		+	I have posted some results from trying to compile the files on a PDP-10: https://github.com/larsbrinkhoff/trek7/issues/1 [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 09:01, 5 April 2023 (CEST)

← Older revision		Revision as of 06:55, 5 April 2023
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	:I wish someone would counter-check my comments on the TREK7 sources and add (at least some of) the ones still missing. [[User:Vaxorcist\|Vaxorcist]] ([[User talk:Vaxorcist\|talk]]) 09:20, 26 March 2023 (CEST)		:I wish someone would counter-check my comments on the TREK7 sources and add (at least some of) the ones still missing. [[User:Vaxorcist\|Vaxorcist]] ([[User talk:Vaxorcist\|talk]]) 09:20, 26 March 2023 (CEST)
		+
		+	: A search for "JSB RIP" (augmented with "PDP") turned up two hits. It's from "History of TOPS - Life in the fast AC's": https://www.inwap.com/pdp10/tops-history.txt [[User:Larsbrinkhoff\|Larsbrinkhoff]] ([[User talk:Larsbrinkhoff\|talk]]) 08:55, 5 April 2023 (CEST)

@@ Line 2: / Line 2: @@
 The article mentions an "obstinate ... 'divide by zero' problem that has been plaguing the code for decades hindering any successful game". Curiousity is piqued - what was the bug, what were the circumstances that provoked it, and what were the results when it was? (I'm assuming a fatal total failure, for the latter?) It sounds like the code most have been subtracting one quantity from another, and using the difference to divide something - without checking to see if the difference was 0? [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 22:06, 25 March 2023 (CET)
 ==Comments==
 The mention of scarce comments reminded me about a favourite MIT story about an obscure comment - perhaps the only comment in a program! So, instruction (I don't think it was a line number - this predates BASIC) 1827 had the comment "LVB RIP". What? Eventually (this ''was'' long before the Internet, too :-) the penny dropped - Ludwig van Beethoven died in 1827! Or maybe it was 'JSB RIP' on instruction 1750 - that actually sounds more likely, now that I think about it - old-time hackers were more fans of Bach than Beethoven! I tried to find this story online, but couldn't. I think I read it in an old copy of the Hacker's Dictionary.  [[User:Jnc|Jnc]] ([[User talk:Jnc|talk]]) 22:06, 25 March 2023 (CET)