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1500 questions
40
votes
8 answers
Why is EEPROM called ROM if it can be written to?
Is there a historical reason? Since it is rewritable it isn't read only by definition, so why call it so?
Michael Stachowsky
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What "unusual" syntax assembly languages are/were there?
This question may have the apparent form of a question soliciting a "list" answer, but I'm expecting the list to be very short, so please bear with me.
What "unusual" syntax assembly languages are/were there? My reason for asking this was that the…
dave
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15 answers
Were there ever 12-, 24-, 48-, etc bit processors?
After seeing this question, I was struck with an intense curiosity to know:
Were there ever processors with word sizes that aren't powers of two, specifically after the 8-bit byte became the industry standard? (I'm well aware of the 9-, 18-, and…
Hearth
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How do I Interface a PS/2 Keyboard without Modern Techniques?
I'm attempting to build a Z80 homebrew computer to teach myself the basis of electronic design. I planned to start from something simple, like a ROM, some SRAM, a video chip and a Z80-PIO. I'd like to build a machine with straightforward I/O, that…
比尔盖子
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39
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5 answers
Is it possible to make a ROM converter?
Based on my understanding, an emulator is necessary because the machine with the emulator on it (say Windows), doesn't execute the same machine code as the target platform (6502, for example). So what an emulator does is it interprets the code line…
Badasahog
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4 answers
Who is credited for the creation of Assembly Language?
The C Programming Language was originally developed by Dennis Ritchie who also co-designed the Unix operating system with which development of the language was closely intertwined.
Is there a specific individual or research group credited with…
jwzumwalt
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39
votes
13 answers
Why are punch card readers no longer in use?
When you think about it, punch cards are the safest way to backup data for long term storage.
They are not influenced by magnetic fields and their data (the holes) don't fade over time. They are also less sensitive to heat than most backup media I…
Danny Schoemann
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8 answers
Why do articles use the term "UART" instead of "serial port"?
I am learning about old computers, and I have found the following image from this article:
They use the terms "UART" instead of "serial port" and "UART driver" instead of "serial port driver", I have also read the same thing on other articles.
Why…
user7127
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39
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4 answers
Where does this esoteric Pascal operator come from?
In the documentation for an implementation of Pascal for a Soviet computer, I've encountered a very weird language extension. I'll try to translate it:
Branching operator (branch)
Syntax
::= branch of { ;…
Leo B.
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39
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1 answer
Is it possible to know which lines in the Gameboy Color cartridge connection is missing by looking at the glitched Nintendo logo?
Context: I'm building a gameboy color flash cartridge based on the rp2040 mcu, I have came to the point where it displays an almost complete nintendo bootlogo at the startup. However, a few pixels(consistently the same ones) in periodic locations…
Ömer Gezer
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3 answers
How did early green PS/2 to USB mouse adapters work?
I remember when USB mouses came out those green PS/2 to USB adapters were around. (I cannot remember to have seen a purple keyboard adapter doing the same. But that doesn't mean anything.)
I always was sure they were passive with only wires…
zomega
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39
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2 answers
Do any FAT8 filesystem images survive?
According to Wikipedia, the original FAT8 filesystem was developed by Marc McDonald in 1977 or 1978, as part of "NCR BASIC +6", a port of Microsoft BASIC to an 8080-based NCR data entry terminal (probably the NCR 7200, although Wikipedia also notes…
Simon Kissane
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5 answers
Why do programmable sound generators like SID include a noise generator?
In layman's terms, please explain the reason that all the popular PSG's used in 1980s computers and game consoles provided an additional channel to generate programmable "noise". How was this "noise" used to create more realistic or interesting…
Brian H
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4 answers
Why does NumLock exist?
My keyboard has over a hundred keys on it. But there's one labelled NumLock. Pressing it turns the numeric keypad into a duplicate of the dedicated arrow keys just left of it. This doesn't seem useful to me...
Does anybody know how this strange…
MathematicalOrchid
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39
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3 answers
Why are assemblers called assemblers?
We tend use the term assembler as if there is a fundamental implication of being different from a compiler. This disparity is usually taken as a fact, no matter how sophisticated or primitive either the tool or the language it handles is.
This is…
Raffzahn
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