PureBasic Forum

I've wanted something like this for a long time, but it would be a very large undertaking. I am posting this here because I would love it if PureBasic could somehow be integrated.

So the idea is to make a modern version of a "home computer" or console. There are remakes of these things out there, but that's not what I'm talking about. It would have modern hardware, HD graphics, etc. but the interface would be like an old computer. You turn it on and get basic immediately. It would have four modes switchable by function keys. Command line mode. PureBasic mode. Sprite editor mode and tracker mode (for audio). It would be a single tasking operating system, but with task switching. Maybe it could even be in a ROM. Actually, yes, the whole system is in a ROM, but the user prefs get stored on SD card. The idea is that PB is running right on the bare metal. It compiles directly into the assembly language for the machine. The user programs and data would be stored on SD card. It would have a VGA or HDMI port, PS/2 mouse, serial and it would be built into the keyboard like an old system.

There is something very special about programming a console vs a modern PC. There's no bloat. It's like the construct in the matrix. You have nothing until you write the code. It would run super efficiently and would give the nostalgic feel of an old system, but be upgraded to look modern. I am blown away that no one has made something like this yet. I looked for a long time and couldn't find anything except clones of old systems - which is somewhat pointless in my mind.

Seeing as it would use very little resources (it would not be running a Linux distro or something, but its own very simple OS), I don't think the hardware requirements would be too stringent. Like PC133 RAM and and ARM or even a new 32-bit Z80. Maybe there is a new version of the CPU for Amiga, so it would be easier to port.

What do you think? It's more of a dream than anything cause I think Fred would have to cooperate in order to make this work. In addition, most of the libraries would probably be very hard to port, but it would be cool if just the core of PB was running and then the rest could be added later. The libraries may have to be very different anyway, so it may have to be taken from the ground up.

I think it would be very hard to use PureBasic for this.

The closest thing I can think of what you want is something like the MSXVR project
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKKX6roL3Nk

It's custom hardware build around a Raspberry Pi 3B+.
It can run MSX games but also has its own VR-Script language.
Its service manual can be found on GitHub
https://github.com/msxvr/documentation

Get a ZX Spectrum Next - ( if you can find one ).

Creating a boot loader is simple but it would need to execute an executable that doesn't rely on an OS. Your idea sounds nice and is why I enjoy my Tandy 1000 HX but is not going to happen. Well, I can not speak for Fred but I'm 99.9% sure this is not his current interest.

Next best option is to run DOS on your computer and find a DOS based programming language you like. I prefer PowerBasic but some still use QuickBasic/Qbasic and there's a lot of source code out there to pick up on.

Take an old OS (WinNT/XP) and an old Purebasic version. You can change the Explorer via the registry and start your own user interface.

LOL! I was just coming here to say the same thing. Write your own interface that uses PureBasic's commandline and kill explorer. You now have Hijack OS.

Or better yet. Just create a fullscreen interace for PureBasic commandline and have it run at startup. That's the safest method.

Perhaps this might interest you...

https://www.commanderx16.com/

Building my dream computer - Part 1
Building my dream computer - Part 2

Nice idea!

A few years ago, I was checking the Linux-version of PureBasic. For this, I tried Damn Small Linux, about 40 mb? - the latest version dates from around 2014 (https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distr ... =damnsmall). AFAIK, I was able to play an .ogg-file and have some things displayed in full screen. You could try https://distrowatch.com/table.php?distribution=mll, which is about 10 mb.

Don't know about the dependencies on Linux today, but IF PB doesn't require a full stack window manager, that may be the way to go.

I would write a simple UI in PB to run the whole system as you described it. PB has all the commands needed for a gaming machine, I'd say. Of course, that would be a lot of work