Programming on [BETA] NCoT Tech

Your CPU Can't Tell Code From Data Inside the Von Neumann Architecture

Mon, 31 Aug 2026 19:11:41 +0100

This video explains the Von Neumann architecture and demonstrates, with real BBC BASIC and C code, how computers fundamentally cannot tell the difference between data and executable instructions. #BBCMicro #AssemblyLanguage #CProgramming #BASICProgramming

I Let ChatGPT Teach Me Embedded Programming — It Went Badly | UPERFECT BE156MF Monitor

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 19:10:44 +0100

I picked up a Cheap Yellow Display (CYD) — an ESP32 with a built-in LCD — #ESP32 #AI #Programming #Electronics

Everything in DOOM Is a Lie | the Genius Behind the Legend

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 19:10:07 +0100

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How Computers Store Decimal Numbers IEEE754 Explained

Sun, 31 May 2026 19:09:34 +0100

Why does Python tell you that 0.1 + 0.2 = 0.30000000000000004? The answer is IEEE 754 - the floating-point standard baked into every CPU on the planet. #Python #Maths #Programming

Agon Light Debug Printing

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 14:19:27 +0100

Here’s how to send text out the Agon Light’s USB port to an attached serial monitor, so it can be used for debug logging. #AgonLight #RetroComputing #Programming

Agon Light C Development

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 23:02:43 +0000

How to write code for the Agon Light (and Console8) using C instead of BASIC, under Linux. It might work with WSL2 in Windows, and it might work on a Mac. #AgonLight #CProgramming #CPlusPlus #RetroComputing

The Reason You Quit Coding Projects and What to Do About It

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:45:17 +0100

In this video, I dive headfirst into coding a tilemap engine for my game — no plan, just pure momentum. Everything seems to go great… until I slam into a brick wall: I have no idea how to actually integrate it into my game. #Sprites #Graphics #Programming

Digital Graffiti - Programming 1990s PC Demoscene Effects

Mon, 11 Aug 2025 22:22:33 +0100

Step back into the golden age of the demoscene as I dive into some of the most iconic visual effects from 1990s PC demos, all recreated under MS-DOS using Borland C++. #MSDOS #CPlusPlus #RetroComputing #Programming

My Game Engine Has a Fatal Flaw - Here's How I Found It : #Gamedev the Hard Way

Mon, 21 Apr 2025 08:10:43 +0100

Welcome to the next edition of Gamedev The Hard Way. This time I’m programming some basic enemy behaviours to test out my game’s entity handling code. Things don’t go to plan however and I discover some quite major problems with the physics and tilemap code. #Sprites #GameDev #Graphics #Programming

MS DOS Programming the Mode X Deviation

Sat, 29 Mar 2025 23:14:27 +0000

After learning about Mode 13h last time, I’ve been digging about in the ancient tomes of wisdom and discovered Mode-X. Let’s make a PC’s VGA card do odd things it was never designed for. #MSDOS #VGA #RetroComputing #Graphics

Retro MS DOS Coding - Recreating the Iconic Award BIOS Screen

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 13:13:13 +0000

Because why not, it looks simpler than it really is and we’ll get to fall down a rabbit hole trying to draw the Energy Star logo. #MSDOS #RetroComputing #PCHardware #Programming

Borland C Dos Programming

Thu, 27 Feb 2025 15:15:09 +0000

I ditched DJGPP for now and am using Borland C++ 3.1 that I found on some abandonware website. I even sent the user manual to an online document printer to get it bound into a real book. #DJGPP #MSDOS #CPlusPlus #RetroComputing

Let's recreate a 90's PC BIOS Boot Screen

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 12:48:31 +0000

Because why not, it looks simpler than it really is and we’ll get to fall down a rabbit hole trying to draw the Energy Star logo. #MSDOS #DJGPP #VGA #Interrupts

Nostalgic DOS Development Part 1 - FreeDOS, DJGPP, RHIDE and other madness.

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 22:06:11 +0000

Come back to a time when 640k was enough, and when a 486 DX2/66 was considered a fast computer. None of this modern multi-core rubbish or branch predicting exploitable nonsense here. Just you, me, DOS and a C compiler. #MSDOS #DJGPP #CProgramming #AssemblyLanguage

Nostalgic DOS Development Part 2 - Writing our first programs

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 21:00:34 +0000

This is part two, go read part 1 first. #MSDOS #DJGPP #Keyboards #RetroComputing

Nostalgic DOS Development - Setting up the machine

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 20:35:13 +0000

The modern world is far too complex. Software has become piles of APIs stacked on top of each other, running on virtual machines inside browsers. Even the CPUs themselves are too complex for anyone to understand. #MSDOS #DJGPP #RetroComputing #Programming

Tilemap Game Engine Development - Agon Light C Programming

Thu, 24 Oct 2024 14:32:42 +0000

In this video, I’ll show you how I built a tilemap system from scratch in C for the Agon Light, and integrated it into my existing game engine. Getting the physics engine to handle collisions with the tilemap was no easy task, but I’ll walk you through how I made it work. On top of that, I explore some game design, sketching out ideas for where the game is… #AgonLight #CProgramming #Sprites #GameDev

Emulation Sucks

Wed, 02 Oct 2024 21:49:37 +0000

… because it’s so realistic you still have to put up with the same problems you had 30 years ago… #Programming

Writing a game the hard way - from scratch using C - Part 2

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:54:09 +0000

Join me on a journey as I attempt to write a game for my Agon Light using nothing but raw C programming. In this second episode I figure out how to make a very basic 2D rigid body physics system work. #AgonLight #CProgramming #RetroComputing #GameDev

Writing a game the hard way - from scratch using C - Part 1

Sat, 17 Aug 2024 18:00:00 +0000

Join me on a journey as I attempt to write a game for my Agon Light using nothing but raw C programming. In this first episode I figure out what kind of game to make, look at some shareware games of the past and get a basic game engine working, using nothing but C code – no external game engines or modern development tools. #AgonLight #AtariST #ZXSpectrum #CProgramming

Stealing the Secrets of the NES - Agon Light Tilemaps in C

Mon, 27 May 2024 15:19:47 +0000

Early computers weren’t powerful enough to draw full-screen moving graphics, so they had to use clever tricks. Let’s explore how Nintendo’s techniques for creating tile-based games on the NES can be applied to modern hardware. Using these methods, I built a scrolling tilemap system for the Agon Light using C programming. #AgonLight #CProgramming #Nintendo #Sprites

Programming Bitmap Graphics - Agon Light using C

Sun, 12 May 2024 08:22:13 +0000

The end result is a fairly pretty scrolling text routine that demonstrates how to draw multiple bitmaps to the Agon Light’s display using VDP commands. This builds on my previous Agon Light C Programming video where I explained how the Agon Light’s screen works, and how to draw lines and shapes. #AgonLight #CProgramming #RetroComputing #Graphics

Programming Windows Screensavers - Agon Light Graphics Programming

Fri, 26 Apr 2024 22:30:02 +0000

My aim is not to simply program the Agon Light by cloning the Windows 3.11 screensavers, but to learn how to program the Agon Light at all. Ultimately I want to learn how to program games for the Agon Light. #AgonLight #BBCMicro #RetroComputing #Graphics

Programming Language Easter Eggs

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 12:05:16 +0000

Easter eggs are usually hidden inside our games and software, but did you know there are some hidden inside the tools and languages used to make that software? Come with me on a fun Easter diversion while we eat our bodyweight in chocolate, and look at six programming Easter Eggs. #Programming

Calculating Pi using Python - Gauss-Legendre and Monte Carlo methods - #piday 2024

Wed, 13 Mar 2024 19:39:43 +0000

Let’s celebrate Pi Day in this appropriately short video by writing some Python programs to calculate Pi. #Python #Programming

Learning how to draw things on the Agon Light

Sat, 02 Mar 2024 15:21:29 +0000

I’ve been having a bit of a play around with my Agon Light, trying to come up with some ideas for a future video. I’ve discovered it has quite a nice 320×240 64 colour video mode that has just enough pixels to be interesting. #AgonLight #Python #RetroComputing #AI

Exploring Hardware Hacks: Joystick Integration, Keyboard Inputs, and Debugging with the Agon Light

Sat, 24 Feb 2024 15:13:25 +0000

Dive into the exciting world of DIY hardware hacking. Join in as I explore joystick integration, keyboard inputs, and serial debugging using the versatile Agon Light platform. Delve into the technical intricacies of GPIO pins, assembly language programming, and C compiler usage for low-level development. Discover… #AgonLight #AssemblyLanguage #CProgramming #Keyboards

Cellular Tomato

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 21:05:49 +0000

In preparation for my next video I’ve been tidying up some cellular automata code I wrote. There’s some good old Conway’s Life, some 1D CAs that make pretty patterns, and one I recently discovered called Wire World. #CellularAutomata #Python #Maths #Programming

Agon Light C Programming - An Introduction

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 21:15:42 +0000

Instead of bashing away in BASIC, it’s possible to do some coding in C on the Agon Light. Let’s find out how in this introduction to an ongoing series where I figure out the Agon hardware and work on a game. I have no idea what game I want to make, and I’m not entirely sure how to achieve some of the necessary functions, but it’ll be fun figuring it out and I hope… #AgonLight #CProgramming #BASICProgramming #RetroComputing

Happy 2024!

Sun, 07 Jan 2024 16:23:08 +0000

Hello everyone! Let’s get on with it, shall we? Last year went pretty well, I released 14 videos and towards the end of the year experimented with releasing more than one video a month. I’ll also experiment with some more spontaneous content on here and maybe the odd Short. YouTube seems to like those, and doing what YouTube likes is the secret to growing. #Programming

The Dark Art of Programming - Writing Cursed Code

Tue, 31 Oct 2023 18:03:58 +0000

It’s Halloween, programming is an art form and there’s a darker side to it. Come with me in this fun video as I explore several languages that hate you and are trying to make your life difficult, before we go off down the rabbit hole and find some truly horrific examples of real programming. #Programming

FORTH - Better than BASIC?

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 19:33:40 +0000

Let’s look at FORTH, the obscure stack based programming language that nobody seems to use. Or do they? #AgonLight #BBCMicro #Z80 #BASICProgramming

Sinclair BASIC vs BBC BASIC - How to fit an entire devkit inside 64K

Sun, 01 Oct 2023 19:19:12 +0000

Just how did 8 bit computers like the ZX Spectrum or BBC Micro manage to cram an entire programming language into their tiny systems, and still have space for the user’s programs? #BBCMicro #ZXSpectrum #AssemblyLanguage #BASICProgramming

Why the 1880 US Census lead to the invention of the computer

Fri, 28 Jul 2023 16:44:44 +0000

How did the 1880 US Census and the end of World War 2 lead to the invention of the computer? What was it that kickstarted the Information Age? Come with me as we find out how the need to count everyone in 1800s America directly lead to the modern information age and all the technology we take for granted. #Programming

Wang Tiles and other ways to tile a plane

Fri, 14 Jul 2023 15:22:56 +0000

Understand the concept of tiling a plane by arranging regular tiles in a systematic manner, creating visually pleasing patterns. Additionally, get introduced to Wang tiles, a fascinating method that employs specific rules for tile placement, resulting in captivating, non-repetitive designs. #Programming

BBC BASIC in RiscOS on a Raspberry Pi is really cool

Sun, 12 Feb 2023 16:27:10 +0000

Picture the modern world, but without Windows, PCs or Apple. What would be on your desk? #BBCMicro #RaspberryPi #BASICProgramming #RetroComputing

Setting up MSYS2 and LibSDL2 for graphics programming in Windows

Thu, 17 Nov 2022 22:14:42 +0000

I’m starting a graphics based project, and decided to use SDL2 in Windows. This meant setting up a development environment. Here’s some notes on how I set up MSYS2, VS Code and LibSDL2. #CProgramming #SDL2 #Windows #GameDev

£3000 Mobile Phone Motorola 8500x

Sat, 29 Oct 2022 19:16:28 +0000

Let’s look at one of the world’s first mobile phones – the Motorola 8500x – released in the mid 1980s for £3,000. That’s over £7,000 today! #Programming

Who Debugs the Debuggers

Sun, 04 Sep 2022 21:20:36 +0000

What do you do when you’re trying to debug code, but your debugging isn’t working, and you need to debug your debugger? #Sprites #Graphics #Programming

Easy C Programming on ZX Spectrum Next - How to set up

Thu, 24 Feb 2022 20:54:14 +0000

How to set up Z88DK to develop C programs for the ZX Spectrum Next in about 20 minutes #SpectrumNext #ZXSpectrum #z88dk #CProgramming

Crap quality USB cables

Sat, 04 Dec 2021 13:04:04 +0000

I think I’ve just had a bit of a revelation… USB-C is the best thing ever. Not only because the plug isn’t polarised, but because if you want a true USB-C to USB-C cable there doesn’t appear to be any cheap crappy ones. The ones with a USB-A plug on the end are still cheap garbage, but a cable with USB-C on both ends seems to have a basic level of quality and a price to match it. #Programming

25 Year Old Coding Project Review

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 22:39:38 +0000

I found my 25 year old A-Level programming project, is it any good? #MSDOS #Python #RetroComputing #Programming

Logo and Mindstorms - Learning How to Program

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 09:07:33 +0000

So how exactly do you learn programming? There’s more to it than just typing in code listings after all. Let’s find out using LOGO on my BBC! #BBCMicro #RetroComputing #Programming

Import Facebook Into WordPress

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 07:32:46 +0000

How to import your exported Facebook data into a WordPress blog #Python #SocialMedia #Programming

Devlog 01 - Spectrum Next Programming Languages

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 12:37:23 +0000

How to get started programming the ZX Spectrum Next #SpectrumNext #ZXSpectrum #z88dk #Z80

Raspberry Pi 400 Devkit for RC2014

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 22:14:17 +0000

I turned a Raspberry Pi 400 into a C devkit for the RC2014. #RC2014 #CProgramming #RaspberryPi #RetroComputing

Microstudio.dev Game Programming

Sun, 06 Dec 2020 11:14:42 +0000

How I wrote a game in a week using just my web browser. #Sprites #Graphics #Programming

Optimised Z80 - Conway's Life Improved

Sun, 22 Nov 2020 14:33:07 +0000

Writing more optimised assembly to improve the speed of the Conway’s Life algorithm #CellularAutomata #AssemblyLanguage #Z80 #RetroComputing

How I Became a better Computer Science teacher

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 17:48:06 +0000

How writing code for a 40 year old computer made me a better computer science teacher. #Sprites #Graphics #Programming

Conways Life in Z80 Assembly

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 12:48:03 +0000

Programming the popular cellular automaton using Z80 Assembler #CellularAutomata #AssemblyLanguage #Z80 #RetroComputing

Zombies! - A Game Written in Z80 Assembly

Thu, 02 Jul 2020 21:04:21 +0000

Converting a 1980s BASIC type-in game into Z80 Assembly. #AssemblyLanguage #Z80 #RetroComputing #Programming

Clueless Chillout Coding

Wed, 03 Jun 2020 22:03:02 +0000

Get comfy and watch as I try to figure out how to write a really simple program the hard way. #Z80 #RetroComputing #Programming

Debugging Z80 With Arduino

Sun, 24 May 2020 22:36:04 +0000

Let’s hook an Arduino up to a 1980s CPU and see what happens! #Z80 #RetroComputing #Programming

Pascal programming on a Z80

Wed, 20 May 2020 08:14:26 +0000

Writing fractals on a 7MHz computer with 64K of RAM #Z80 #RetroComputing #Programming

Reading Mice and Joysticks on the Spectrum Next using C

Sat, 18 Apr 2020 21:22:32 +0000

Today’s lesson in curing headaches by banging your head on the wall until they stop involves joysticks and mice. This is a bit technical, so ensure your seat back and tray table are in the upright and locked position. Please keep all arms inside the ride at all times. #SpectrumNext #CProgramming #Sprites #RetroComputing

Hardware Sprites on the ZX Spectrum Next in C

Fri, 17 Apr 2020 09:10:29 +0000

Drawing sprites on the Spectrum Next, using C. Or – how to learn the dark art of figuring out things you don’t understand. Learning to program is an endurance game full of random side quests, dead ends and frustration. Rather than learning “how to do X”, which is specific, it’s much more useful learning “how to figure out how to do anything at all”. Go look on… #SpectrumNext #ZXSpectrum #CProgramming #Sprites

Writing C Code on a Spectrum Next

Wed, 15 Apr 2020 09:09:01 +0000

What better way to wait out the apocalypse than trying to learn a new system. Read how I dug out my ZX Spectrum Next and set about writing C code on it… #SpectrumNext #ZXSpectrum #z88dk #CProgramming

Reading and Writing JSON using Python

Sat, 07 Mar 2020 08:45:22 +0000

How to read and write JSON files using Python so that they can be used in your Python programs. #Python #Programming

Python Commandline Argument Parsing

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 21:43:37 +0000

A quick set of notes on how to parse command line arguments properly in Python. This uses the argparse module, totally removing any effort on your part when it comes to processing command line switches. #Python #Programming

Gameboy Advance Dev Workflow in 2020

Sun, 01 Mar 2020 08:35:57 +0000

How to write GameBoy Advance (GBA) homebrew using modern tools and systems in 2020. Compilers, editors, debugging and more! This isn’t the definitive way of doing things, but it’s a way that seems to work for me. Also you might read this and think it a bit convoluted and full on. I didn’t create it all in one go, it’s a workflow that has evolved over time. #Nintendo #Windows #Sprites #Linux

Z80 vs C

Sun, 05 Jan 2020 13:02:33 +0000

A short comparison between low level Z80 assembler and high level C #ZXSpectrum #AssemblyLanguage #Z80 #RetroComputing

How to Write Emulator - Fetch Decode Execute Cycle

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 22:27:19 +0000

The beating heart of any CPU is the fetch-decode-execute cycle. It is the same for our simulator #CoreWar #AssemblyLanguage #Programming

How to Write Emulator - Automating Tedious Programming with Excel

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 22:09:16 +0000

Sometimes you have to type out almost identical lines of code, and it’s either time consuming or error prone. Here’s how to avoid it all by using some clever Excel techniques. #CoreWar #Teardown #HomeAutomation #Repair

How to Write Emulator - Opcodes Jumptables

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 22:01:36 +0000

How to efficiently store and execute many small functions, without using a single if statement or switch construct. #CoreWar #AssemblyLanguage #Programming

How to Write Emulator - Intro

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 21:41:24 +0000

To begin, this isn’t technically an emulator, the system I’m trying to model isn’t real. This is more of a simulator, but that’s less of a catchy search word on the Internet. #CoreWar #AssemblyLanguage #Programming

Minimum Spanning Tree

Tue, 29 Oct 2019 17:31:48 +0000

As a challenge I thought I’d try to implement the Minimum Spanning Tree algorithm, and have a play with it. My code is based off the excellent Coding Train video on the same topic which you can watch here. It’s where I got the code from, and then mixed in some code from the Arrays of Objects video too. #Programming

Component Based Game Engine From Scratch Part 2

Sat, 13 Apr 2019 16:50:49 +0000

Last time I explained in detail how the whole system worked. This time I will focus on the component system, as it is quite complex. Using it isn’t complex, but I’m trying to mimic Unity’s functionality that was written in C#. Functionality that is partially implemented within the editor and doesn’t relate directly to typing in code. I have no idea how Unity really does… #CPlusPlus #CProgramming #GameDev #Programming

Component Based Game Engine From Scratch Part 1

Sun, 10 Mar 2019 21:44:59 +0000

This is going to be the first part in a continuing series where I try to explain how and why I’m creating my own game engine using C++ and the SDL library. My engine isn’t going to do anything amazing, but will borrow ideas from other engines I’ve used before such as Unity. #CPlusPlus #CProgramming #SDL2 #GameDev

Creating a Modern Static Website Using Hugo

Fri, 08 Feb 2019 23:33:05 +0000

This post is sponsored by hand coded HTML and CSS. Hand coding your HTML is a quick and effective method of getting your presence online! The first 20 people to click the link below will get £100 off their own hand coded website! You will require your own hands and knowledge of HTML. #WebDev #Programming

Text printing using bitmap characters in C++ and SDL

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 22:13:22 +0000

Back in the mists of history, sometime around the 90s it was quite common for games and demos to display text on the screen. Since we’re talking about old computers with barely any usable RAM, the text was stored as images. A giant single image with every character placed within it. To display words programmers had to be a bit inventive. That’s the topic of today’s post. #CPlusPlus #SDL2 #GameDev #Graphics

Odroid Go Graphics Programming

Mon, 30 Jul 2018 21:16:30 +0000

Making a microcontroller produce graphics is very similar to making an old 8 or 16 bit computer draw images. They both have small screens, not much RAM and not enough CPU power to draw all the screen all the time. #ESP32 #Sprites #Graphics #Programming

Odroid Go Raw Coding

Wed, 25 Jul 2018 20:56:47 +0000

The ODroid GO is a handheld console that sells itself as a device that will run emulators of all your favourite 8bit systems. And it does that job rather well, I spent at least five minutes with mine playing Tetris, and it was a good emulation. Then I installed the Arduino libraries for it, plugged in a USB cable and started trying things out. #ESP32 #Programming #Electronics