There’s an old school computer programming term called “Close to the metal”. It means you’re working with assembly level languages that the chips and hardware understand, rather than much more easier for humans to understand higher level languages.
This was more important back in the day with limited hardware and memory power. You had to squeeze everything you could out of it. These days we all walk around with supercomputers in our pockets with power to spare, so no one bothers, mostly.
Almost all programming these days is done in very popular accessible languages. The languages are later “compiled” into something the computer can understand.
When you work close to the metal, you’re working closer to the hardware. You’re working in a way most people don’t have the ability to. There are very few programmers that can do this. The ones that can are extremely rare and valuable.
I think of myself working close to the metal when I tap into my deep self. I’ve begun to have a deep understanding of myself, how I operate, what drives me and can now tap into some of that power directly. When I do, and demonstrate it for others, it can be a very powerful experience.
There’s a saying “You can’t take people deeper than you’ve gone yourself”. Well, I’ve gone pretty damn deep. This is my work.
I work “close to the metal”.
When I work close to the metal, all the regular frameworks that everyone else follows don’t apply. I can invent my own.
Working close to the metal, because of its efficiency, means it takes up far less resources. I can accomplish a lot more by doing far less.
I can do whatever I want, and then I can “demo” it to others.
When I demo it, others can follow in my footsteps. It becomes repeatable. They can work in the language that they are familiar with, now that they’ve seen what was possible.
I enjoy creating these dazzling demos, and then watching what happens in response.
What demo of mine has inspired you recently?
My thoughts exactly.
You might also acquaint yourself with Genius programming if you haven’t already.
Want a link? here it is!
(And read the stories!)
ex:
Jez San’s Starglider on the Atari ST, particularly its sound. The system had negligible capabilites, but he managed to pull off sampling and proper wave forms (as opposed to square waves) by stripping the machine open and putting a voltmeter across the sound chip.
If modern players are amazed by the ability in No Man’s Sky to easily lift your ship off from one planet, into space, and to another planet, without any loading or breaks, then think how amazed they were when Star Glider 2 had the same feature in 1988, on the Commodore Amiga 500, a machine with 1mb of RAM.
Jez San was notorious for using ridiculously low-level engineering techniques on home computers to achieve the otherwise impossible. He was infamous for asking representatives of computer manufacturers at trade shows if he could have a version of the computer with no Operating System, because it’d be easier for him to program.
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/SugarWiki/GeniusProgramming
(Enjoying the summer?)
Hey Phil. Small world. I owned an Atari ST, and I had a copy of Starglider. And years later I was at the Consumer Electronics Show in Vegas, and I saw a badge in the Nintendo booth that said “Jez San”. I was able to tell him I was a fan of Starglider. He was really touched :-).