RISC OS in IEEE Spectrum

Hi folks — just a heads up that I wrote a piece for IEEE Spectrum magazine (where I’m an editor) about using RISC OS on a Model B+ Pi as the basis for a booth-style joke machine. The goal was to introduce people to some of the benefits of using RISC OS on the new hardware, in particular the ease of dipping into assembler under BBC Basic. I’ve had a blast with RISC OS and Basic since I first downloaded it a few months ago, and hopefully the article will convey that to some of Spectrum’s readers!

The article is at: http://spectrum.ieee.org/geek-life/hands-on/create-a-wheel-of-excuses-with-basic-and-the-new-raspberry-pi

Cheers,

Stephen

I’ve had a blast with RISC OS and Basic

IMHO, the combination of the two is really unique. We sometimes forget very simple facts: RISC OS is probably the best 32bit OS for Basic, and BBC Basic is still a very good Basic. With RISC OS Pico we even have the only modern operating system on the market optimized to boot directly in Basic. RISC OS is the OS of Basic (and many other things).

Anyway, thanks for the article :)

Glad you liked it! Now I’ve got the hang of tapping the Pi GPIO through Basic/Assembly I can see it finding it’s way into some future Spectrum projects as well: it’s just such a straightforward way to create the type of software often found in these articles.

it’s just such a straightforward way to create the type of software often found in these articles.

That’s my opinion too :)

Just in-case you don’t know about it, the GPIO module is included in the Pico ROM, so you can use the SWI interface to control GPIO pins..
Also when built as standalone it will work on the Pi(all versions), OMAP3 and OMAP4.

Stephen: Pleased to see the article. Will it get a mention in the printed version of Spectrum? Ask as I get that each month. Been both a RO user and IEEE member for years. :-)

Jim

@Tank: Thanks for the note about the GPIO Module. I thought highlighting how BBC Basic can be so easily combined with assembler was the more interesting thing for the purposes of the article, but the module may well be the thing for future projects.

@Jim: yes, it will be in the print November issue in the “Hands On” section — glad to come across a reader/member!