Thank you for the praise and suggestion! The C128 is relatively new to me (in recent years) as well, and I'm looking forward to continuing with it in the future. -- JC
On the original Commodore C128 the 40 column screen was only available if the CPU was running in 1 MHz mode. If you switched the CPU to the 2 MHz clock speed the 40 column screen was no longer readable.
VICE exhibits the exact same behaviour. When running the main CPU at 2 MHz, there's no time left for the VIC-II to jump onto the bus and access the RAM. -- JC
Thank you, I just download vice for the 128 emulator, I don't remember a graphic command on my 128. I may get it out to test it. I wanted to write a game in basic. More if I ever get it to work. Lee
My pleasure! I highly recommend downloading the C128 System Guide (link in the description). It's an excellent reference to all of the BASIC V7.0 commands. I bought a physical copy to keep next to my C128, because there are so many of them! -- JC
The default GTK symbolic keymapping maps the Keypad Divide key ('/') as the 40/80 column switch. Hit that once followed by a STOP-RESTORE (ESC-PGUP) and you switch screens.
Well hallelujah! Multiple previous Internet searches of mine yielded a few other comments on what key was supposedly mapped to the 40/80 column switch, but none of them actually worked -- hence why I avoided keyboard mappings entirely in the video. Thank you for the information. -- JC
I was amazed when I realized not too long ago that my Commodore 128 allowed for multiple monitors years before I had my first PC that supported it! Unfortunately, it was given away long ago (ironically, the box it came in was still in my parents’ house until a few years ago)
Indeed: which comes back to the programmer's design decision to do that. 😉 Using very little additional code to what I showed, you can PEEK one memory location to see if the user is in 40-column mode; if yes, display "Press any key to continue..." on 80-column screen before activating FAST and proceeding. Certainly all software is different (and some takes a pure RTFM tact), but if user-friendliness is an objective, it's utterly trivial to make sure that the user's screen is set up correctly before proceeding. -- JC
(C128) Dopo aver utilizzato il comando graphic 5, passa alla modalità 80 col. Ma il comando LOCATE X,Y non sposta il cursore alla posizione identificata da x ed y. E' capitato anche a qualcuno di voi? Grazie.
you missed something I wish you to try and be surprised it's a keyboard 40/80 command in basic just go into the C128 40 column mode and type ?CHR$(27)+"x" and there ya go. glad to help
Well, that is an interesting way to do it from BASIC, seeing as pressing ESC + X will toggle between 40 & 80 columns, and character code 27 is the ESC key. For my own programming tastes, the GRAPHIC command is more readable & efficient, but I will hand it to you that this is another perfectly valid way to switch to the "other mode" -- if you know you don't want to be in the one that you're in. :) -- JC
Loved this Vid! Please post more c128 BASIC stuff. I never had a C64/128 back in the day, and playing with them via VICE is so much fun!
Thank you for the praise and suggestion! The C128 is relatively new to me (in recent years) as well, and I'm looking forward to continuing with it in the future. -- JC
Great channel! Subbed, and I hope the algorithm picks you up!
On the original Commodore C128 the 40 column screen was only available if the CPU was running in 1 MHz mode. If you switched the CPU to the 2 MHz clock speed the 40 column screen was no longer readable.
VICE exhibits the exact same behaviour. When running the main CPU at 2 MHz, there's no time left for the VIC-II to jump onto the bus and access the RAM. -- JC
Thank you, I just download vice for the 128 emulator, I don't remember a graphic command on my 128. I may get it out to test it. I wanted to write a game in basic. More if I ever get it to work.
Lee
My pleasure! I highly recommend downloading the C128 System Guide (link in the description). It's an excellent reference to all of the BASIC V7.0 commands. I bought a physical copy to keep next to my C128, because there are so many of them! -- JC
The default GTK symbolic keymapping maps the Keypad Divide key ('/') as the 40/80 column switch. Hit that once followed by a STOP-RESTORE (ESC-PGUP) and you switch screens.
Well hallelujah! Multiple previous Internet searches of mine yielded a few other comments on what key was supposedly mapped to the 40/80 column switch, but none of them actually worked -- hence why I avoided keyboard mappings entirely in the video. Thank you for the information. -- JC
Very useful video, thanks.
I was amazed when I realized not too long ago that my Commodore 128 allowed for multiple monitors years before I had my first PC that supported it! Unfortunately, it was given away long ago (ironically, the box it came in was still in my parents’ house until a few years ago)
5:43 Most 80-column programs will immediately activate FAST mode, turning off the 40-column screen.
Indeed: which comes back to the programmer's design decision to do that. 😉 Using very little additional code to what I showed, you can PEEK one memory location to see if the user is in 40-column mode; if yes, display "Press any key to continue..." on 80-column screen before activating FAST and proceeding. Certainly all software is different (and some takes a pure RTFM tact), but if user-friendliness is an objective, it's utterly trivial to make sure that the user's screen is set up correctly before proceeding. -- JC
Was about to write the same 😁
Yep! lol, i remember trying to figure this out for the first time
Only took 3:30 to get to the answer. Thanks!! :-D
👏👏👏
(C128) Dopo aver utilizzato il comando graphic 5, passa alla modalità 80 col. Ma il comando LOCATE X,Y non sposta il cursore alla posizione identificata da x ed y. E' capitato anche a qualcuno di voi? Grazie.
10 graphic 5
20 print "hello there ";
30 graphic 0
40 print "general Kenobi ";
50 goto 10
run
you missed something I wish you to try and be surprised it's a keyboard 40/80 command in basic just go into the C128 40 column mode and type ?CHR$(27)+"x" and there ya go. glad to help
Well, that is an interesting way to do it from BASIC, seeing as pressing ESC + X will toggle between 40 & 80 columns, and character code 27 is the ESC key. For my own programming tastes, the GRAPHIC command is more readable & efficient, but I will hand it to you that this is another perfectly valid way to switch to the "other mode" -- if you know you don't want to be in the one that you're in. :) -- JC