[TriLUG] Older Programming books vs Modern Programming books

[matt at noway2.thruhere.net]

> So recently i have gotten really into 6502 Microprocessor and Assembly
> code.
<snip>
> Now on the other hand I open up a book like
> C++ for Game Programmers and I am like gezz.. Can this get any more
boring...
> My question is have any of you ever experienced this same problem were you
> wish more modern books had the same feel as older programming books?
> It could also be at the moment I am really into the 6502 topic and I am
> willing to learn more. but i mean I have been at my computer since 11 and
> its now 1:20ish, I still want to keep going with my learning.
>
No, actually I think you are on to something.  I learned to program about
30 years ago on a C-64, using a 6510 processor which is pretty similar. 
Years later, after graduating from college, my first true engineering job
was programming currency validation equipment in assembly language using
the 8510 and 8502 processors.  The 8510 and 8502 were very similar to 65xx
series and also use the PIO interface chips like those old systems.  The
algorithms we dealt with were real time motor control, 32 bit math (long
division and multiplication), interrupt handling, and digital signal
processing (filters).  There was definitely something magical about
programming that way and today's GUI, IDE based systems just don't have
the same flair.

By the same token, I look at the games that were available at that time
and while they are primitive and crude by today's standards in regards to
sound, graphics, and interactivity, there is still something immensely fun
about them and they had something that is missing in them.

I didn't investigate the links you posted, but if you find you like this
sort of programming, you may find the C-64 emulators, such as c-64 and
vice to be of interest.