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On Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:02:06 +0100
Grant Sewell <dcglug@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hello Grant,
> Magazine code listings, however, introduced bugs and errors of their
> own... principally "fat fingers" errors.
The two Atari 8-bit specific mags I got overcame that (at least in part)
by writing checksum routines and printing the codes alongside the
program. They evaluated the line on pressing enter and giving you the
checksum. It was then a simple matter of cross-checking and if an error
was evident, thee was only one line of code to correct.
IDK if other system specific mags did similar things, but it'd surprise
me if they didn't.
Anyhow, type-ins died a rapid death when the 16 bit machines came along.
In fact, one of the mags even used the checksum prog as the basis of an
April Fool's joke, postulating that typing in the checksum could produce
the line of code. Nonsense of course, since each sum could be produced
by any number of different lines. The checksums were only two chars,
BTW.
--
Regards _
/ ) "The blindingly obvious is
/ _)rad never immediately apparent"
But they didn't tell him the first two didn't count
Tin Soldiers - Stiff Little Fingers
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