Byte: The Small Systems Journal (June 1979)

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_{Cover of the June 1979 issue of Byte}

Byte was one of the earliest home computer magazines. In at least its early days, it was subtitled The Small Systems Journal. It covered pretty much any computer that might be called a 'small system' or 'home computer' (which was a new term at the time). The June 1979 issue includes:

Foreground

A Model of the Brain for Robot Control, Part 1 - The first of a three part series on modeling the brain. This part focuses on notation.

Mind Over Matter - A project for adding biofeedback capabilities to your computer.

Computer Generated Maps - In the second part of this series, a map projection program continues to be developed.

The Nature of Robots, Part 1 - The first part of this series focuses on defining robot behavior.

Designing A Command Language - Designing an input command language using a finite state machine.

_{Table of Contents from the June 1979 issue of Byte}

Background

Simple Maze Traversal Algorithms - Solutions for the problem of traversing a maze.

More Colors For Your Apple - A technique for using more than four colors in the Apple II's high resolution mode.

A Home For Your Computer - Building a desk/cabinet for your computer.

Talk to a Turtle - Building a computer controlled robot: The Terrapin Turtle robot project.

My Computer Runs Mazes - Teaching your computer to navigate mazes.

The 1802 Op Codes - A chart of the op codes for the RCA/Hughes 1802 8-bit microprocessor.

The History of Computing: The IBM 7070 - A look bac at the IBM 7070 including some photos and technical specifications.

Artificial Intelligence and Entropy - How the laws of entropy relate to artificial intelligence.

Basic Text Editor - A text editor created in BASIC.

Bubble Memories - Bubble memory, which is a form of non-volatile memory that cost about the same as a floppy, was just becoming a commercial reality. This article describes how it works.

Timesharing: Squeezing The Most From Your Micro - A guide to using time sharing techniques on a microcomputer.

Three Types of Pseudorandom Sequences - A detailed look at three ways of producing pseudorandom numbers on a computer.

Nucleus

Editorial - On building a new computer system.

Letters - Readers write in about building a database, packet radio, genealogy programs, and more.

BYTE News - The National Computer Conference (NCC) to be the largest computer show ever; IEEE to release S-100 bus standard; TI and HP rumored to be developing personal computers; National Semiconductor working on new 8080 compatible processor; and more.

Technical Forum - Estimating magnitude to speed up the FFT process.

Nybbles: The Great APL Contest - The results of a contest to create a usable APL interpreter.

Book Reviews - A review of The BASIC Handbook: An Encyclopedia of the BASIC Computer Language by David A. Lien.

Programming Quickies - A BASIC factorial calculator.

Languages Forum - Discussion about high level language for 8-bit computers, SNOBOL4, and more.

What's New - They Physician's Microcomputer Report; Gimix System 68 microcomputer; new microprocessors from Zilog; text processing software; CP/68 OS for 6800 CPUs; Discus 2D floppy drive; TRS-80 Expandable Interface; light pen for the Apple II; RS-232 board for the TRS-80; printer interface for IBM Selectric typewriters; and much more.