Why I Hate C64 Pseudo Code

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By Kodiak


If, as a Commodore 64 programming fan, you've ever trawled through the many detailed 6502 coding articles on Codebase64.org, at some point you will have come across something that looks like this:

C64 Pseudo Code

(Taken from this original article).

Yes, I don't know what it means either.

This is what is known as "pseudo code", which is supposed to make everything easier.

And I'm sure for some coders, it actually can do so, if it's their own code and they know what they're doing with it.

So what's my problem with it?

  • It's illegible gobbledegook and might as well be written in Chinese or Vedic Sanskrit.
  • When combined with macros, I hear the outcome is bloaty code that needs to be trimmed down (not that I have personally dabbled in this because of my already stated dislike for it).
  • It seems to present an extra layer of abstraction between the coder and pure, unadulterated 6502.
  • It might also have a touch of pretentiousness about it or constitute an effort to sex-up 6502 to match the look of the likes of JavaScript.
  • It always seems to appear in lower case mnemonics, another thing I dislike.


Of course, this is meant as no insult to those who are fond of it, and certainly the coder who wrote the snippet above is in the elite of the C64 demo coders (the truly awesome Ninja of The Dreams), so seriously, no disrespect to him.

But for lesser mortals like me, it's an unwelcome sight.

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Kodiak