Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

Retrocomputing: Building a Transputer ISA Card from Scratch

2025-07-06

Driven by nostalgia for 90s transputers, the author painstakingly built a functional Inmos B004-compatible ISA card. The journey involved sourcing vintage transputer boards from eBay, designing schematics, PCB fabrication using KiCAD and PCBWay, and debugging numerous issues, including a reversed board installation, mis-placed components, and noisy wiring. The author successfully ran their 1993 Pascal compiler and ray tracing software, showcasing impressive hardware skills and the power of open-source tools and online manufacturing. The project is a testament to the enduring appeal of retrocomputing and the accessibility of modern hardware development.

(nanochess.org)

Hardware

IntyBASIC: A BASIC Compiler Reviving Intellivision Game Development

2025-07-02

Inspired by the challenges of Intellivision game development, the author created IntyBASIC, a BASIC compiler for the Intellivision console. Launched in 2014, IntyBASIC translates BASIC source code into CP1610 assembly, supporting Intellivision's video and sound capabilities. Its success sparked a surge of new Intellivision games and homebrews, even leading to a programming contest. The author also penned two books sharing game development insights, covering basic to advanced techniques with complete game source code included.

(nanochess.org)

Development BASIC Compiler

A Transputer Emulator in JavaScript: A 90s OS Reborn in Your Browser

2025-04-04

A developer has ported their C-based Transputer emulator to JavaScript. Surprisingly fast, this emulator comes pre-loaded with a full-blown operating system from Spring 1996, including a C compiler, assembler, 3D modeler, and ray tracer. Users can experience this retro OS directly in their browser, running commands and even attempting to self-compile the C compiler! This showcases the advancements in JavaScript JIT compilation and the developer's passion for retro technology.

(nanochess.org)

Development Retro OS

A 16-Year-Old's Transputer OS: A 1995 Retrocomputing Odyssey

2025-03-13

In 1995, a 16-year-old author built a self-contained operating system for a Transputer using only 128KB of RAM. This ambitious project included a basic OS, text editor, Small-C compiler, and assembler. He painstakingly extended the compiler, eventually running complex programs like a chess program from the IOCCC and a ray tracer. A 3D polygonal modeler was also developed. Years later, the author revisited this project, detailing the challenges of restoring the OS, including byte order issues, memory management, and floating-point errors. The article culminates in a successful emulation of the OS and provides instructions to rebuild it. This story showcases impressive ingenuity and perseverance in the face of limited resources.

(nanochess.org)

Development Operating System Development

Teenager Builds Nearly Complete Pascal Compiler for Transputer in 1993

2025-02-05

In 1993, a 14-year-old author, leveraging his father's expensive Transputer chips, successfully built a nearly complete Pascal compiler over several months. This involved mastering Pascal, compiler principles, and Transputer programming. The project started with an assembler, followed by porting and improving a Tiny Pascal compiler, culminating in the compiler's self-compilation. This feat showcases the author's coding talent and persistence, while also highlighting the Transputer's potential and limitations in parallel computing.

(nanochess.org)

Development