VCCC2025 entry for TO8
Author: __sam__
Category: Christmas Challenge
System: Thomson TO8
Language: Assembler (assembleur-6809-v3_memo7.rom, provided)
Len source code: 1605 bytes (incl. comments)
Len exe file: 95 bytes (on disk)
Len code only: 85 bytes (in RAM)
Instructions:
1) Download any emulator:
- TEO : https://sourceforge.net/projects/teoemulator/
- DCMOTO : http://dcmoto.free.fr/emulateur/index.html
- other
2) Select machine
- TO8
3) Chose media
- VCCC2025.k7 for tape drive
- VCCC2025.sap for disk drive
4) Boot into BASIC
- BASIC 1 for tape drive (press 2)
- BASIC 2 for disk drive (press 1)
Note: yes, Thomson reversed the keys ;)
5) Load and launch binary
- for tape drive, type: LOADM"",,R
- for disk drive, type: LOADM"VCCC2025",,R
Note: there are two commas before R.
6) Enjoy the snowflake!
Description:
This is a very simple algorithm. It extracts bits from data
(19×19/8 bytes) and, depending on each bit, prints either a
space or a star.
That’s all.
Comments:
I tried many more sophisticated algorithms (see my GitHub:
https://github.com/Samuel-DEVULDER/Thomson-Projects/tree/main/2025/VCCC2025),
but the dumbest one turned out to be the smallest. No need
to be clever this time.
No special trick is used — it’s quite straightforward. Reads the
comments in the source code. Just the K.I.S.S. principle.
The binary is relocatable and should work on all Thomson TO-series
machines: TO7 (with 16K memory expansion), TO7/70, TO8, TO9, and TO9+.
Hopefully, I’ll have time to submit one of the more sophisticated
algorithms as another entry for a rare machine.
Note: The Thomson TO8 is an 8-bit French home computer from the
mid-1980s, powered by a Motorola 6809 CPU. It belongs to the same
family as the TO7 and TO9, widely used in French schools at the time.