wickensonline.co.uk -> Retrochallenge 2009 Summer Challenge Entry -> Index


                         Retrochallenge 2009 Summer Challenge Entry

      This page contains information about my entry to the Retrochallenge 2009 Summer
      Challenge. The retrochallenge competition is held bi-annually and requires
      entrants to spend a month on a project involving retro hardware and/or retro
      software. The term retro describes software or hardware that are more than ten
      years old.

      The competition main page can be found here[1].

      This entry focusses on programming a VAXstation 4000/90 in it's native assembly
      language VAX Macro-32 using the tools provided by the OpenVMS operating system.
      I won't be restricting myself to using this machine exclusively, as last time.
      I'm hoping for some sort of symbiosis between old and new technologies this
      time, and am looking for observations of when it works and when it clashes.

      Entrants to the competition are required to keep a diary. The posts below
      contain entries to my diary. If you are interested in my project, please check
      back during the month of July 2009 as I will be making regular updates.

      POSTS

          30-Jul-2009 Prelude
                      Originally started a week ago I only managed two lines so in
                      typical retrochallenge fashion the prelude is written a full day
                      before the challenge starts.

           2-Jul-2009 Library
                      My eclectic collection of books that are going to take me to
                      ultimate glory.

           3-Jul-2009 Cabling
                      RJ45 -> SVHS -> DB9 -> MMJ. Chances of success?

           9-Jul-2009 Research
                      Of Macro, Mandelbrots, Manuals & Missing ADSL

          13-Jul-2009 Work In Progress
                      Macro, Calling Standard, New Retro Tech, Backups

          15-Jul-2009 Mandelbrot Generator 1
                      Floating point numbers and reading the manual properly

          17-Jul-2009 Hardware Trials
                      All the fun of the fair - and all my own making

          18-Jul-2009 Miller Time?
                      Finally, an image any daddy could be proud of

          26-Jul-2009 Next Steps
                      What to do with the last week of retrogoodness

          29-Jul-2009 Images
                      Images

          30-Jul-2009 Images 2
                      Images 2

          31-Jul-2009 Conclusions
                      Closing thoughts and future directions

      
      My setup

      
      ENDNOTES

      1. Retrochallenge Home Page