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.