Most of the lines I typed in where "2050 data 100,98,0,0,45,128,..." up to the maximum line length (256 character?) at which point it was "2060 data...." Nothing to learn there. I suppose I could look up each opcode and figure it out, but even then there were no names to guide me as to what anything means.
You were either typing in mostly game code (with a simple BASIC HEX ML loader), or were using a machine with a limited form of BASIC that didn't allow for easy graphics manipulation (the C=64 and VIC-20 were famous in this regard).
While I recall doing the same on my machine (TRS-80 Color Computer) - it was usually to get functionality that was lacking otherwise. I recall having to type a ton of DATA statements for an ML program that would give you simultaneous graphics and text on screen, like it was a native mode. Then there was another program (called "Bells and Whistles") that was essentially a 4-track music editor, similar to 90s era "tracker" programs; you could define simple waveforms as different "instruments", then build your music in a note-by-note "tracker" style - except the tracks ran left-to-right, not top-to-bottom! It would then output the music and show the notes playing (scrolling) - four channel, 6 bit music, with user-defined waveforms and envelopes. Truely amazing at the time!
Especially considering the TRS-80 CoCo did -not- have a sound chip. It was all done by the CPU and a 6-bit DAC (which was also used by the cassette tape interface for storage, as well in a convoluted manner by the joysticks).
I was probably typing in a program that was written in assembly language, and then the bytes were output so that I didn't have to type in the assembly code (which would be even more keystrokes with only limited additional ability to understand, not to mention everybody has BASIC, assemblers were rarer).
I was doing this on an Atari 400. There was plenty of power available from BASIC to get at the graphics and sound, but there wasn't the speed. BASIC was an interpreted language and so you had to drop to assembly to get enough speed for a large program to not feel slow.
