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Re: P-Source: A Guide to the Apple Pascal System
Jerry wrote:
Perhaps one more reason the vintage boxes still have a following is their
characteristic of being understandable. I was trying to think of why folks
who never used them back in the day have begun to use them, and maybe this
is partly why. One can actually learn how a whole vintage machine works,
whereas the new stuff today is so mind-bogglingly complex, it would be very
tough for anyone to master it all.
I've often said that the (8-bit) Apple II was the last personal computer
for which all the documentation required to completely understand it
weighed less than the machine itself. ;-)
The Apple IIgs actually is probably too complex for most people to master
when you factor in all the toolbox stuff and GS/OS, whereas the II and II+
hardware/software can be completely understood by one person. You could
personally read and know every line of code in the monitor, BASIC, and DOS
3.3 or ProDOS. Has any one person disassembled all the toolbox, and all of
GS/OS? I'd say WOW to those who have but I doubt there are many if any.
Put another way, the II/II+ was designed by one person, but the IIgs was
designed by a group. (I'm not saying you can't master a more complex
machine, but that you won't understand down to the gate or byte what it is
doing.)
Well put.
I would further say that as a consequence of the strong influence of Woz
on virtually every aspect of the Apple II system, the design has a
coherence which is seldom, if ever, found in a group design.
Of course, as time went on, entropy had its way--just as it does with
everything--but the starting point of the design was so strong that
it took a long time for the structure to weaken, even as the cast of
contributors multiplied exponentially.
-michael
NadaPong: Network game demo for Apple II computers!
Home page: http://members.aol.com/MJMahon/
"The wastebasket is our most important design
tool--and it's seriously underused."