Hardware Podcasts

This Old Repo: LLMs and the Restoration of BattleTris

Oxide and Friends · 9 Jun 2026 · 1h 18m · Episode 13

What this episode covers

Bryan Cantrill and Adam Leventhal discuss using LLMs, specifically Claude, to restore BattleTris, a networked Tetris clone Bryan developed in 1993. They detail the process of getting the legacy C++ code to compile and run on modern Linux, highlighting how the AI resolved complex dependency issues, stack corruption bugs, and Makefile inconsistencies that would have been difficult to debug manually. The conversation explores how LLMs change the calculus for maintaining old open-source software, reducing the uncertainty of revival and enabling the restoration of projects like BattleTris that have fallen into disrepair due to changing implicit assumptions and deprecated libraries like Motif.

Most relevant to

large enterprises

Topics

Mentioned

Products
BattleTris, OpenLook, BUN, Terraform, Cockroach, DTrace, Solaris
Tools
Claude, Motif, OpenMotif, Git, SCCS
Also
Rust, Zig, Linux, Teamware

Related episodes from other shows

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • Coredump Sessions · 55m

    #007: AI, Open Source, and the Future of Embedded Development: How Much Code Will We Actually Write?

    François Baldassari, CEO of Memfault, and Thomas Sarlandie, Field CTO of Memfault, host a panel with Jonathan Beri, CEO of Golioth, and Dan Mangum, CTO of Golioth, to discuss the intersection of AI, open source, and embedded development. The group analyzes the maturity of edge AI for audio and video processing, the challenges of integrating LLMs into hardware due to rapid model iteration, and the current state of using AI for firmware development. They conclude that while AI is transforming code generation and review, open source remains critical for training models and providing trusted, complex infrastructure like Zephyr and FreeRTOS.

    Embedded firmwareAI & machine learning
    9 chapters

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 28m

    AI-enhanced Embedded Development (May 2025 Edition)

    Luca, an embedded software expert, discusses his experience at the Embedded Online Conference and a German conference, highlighting an LLM-only hackathon where participants were forbidden from writing code manually. He explains that effective AI-assisted development requires rigorous context management, treating prompts like version-controlled code, and managing external context files to prevent hallucinations. The conversation covers the economic benefits of AI (approx. $0.01 per line of code), the tightening of feedback loops, and the evolving role of developers from coders to AI supervisors and technical product owners.

    Embedded firmwareAI & machine learning
    7 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 09m

    334: Bag of Heuristics

    Matt Godbolt, creator of Compiler Explorer (godbolt.org) and the jsbeeb BBC Micro emulator, discusses the evolution of his open-source tools, the technical details of compiler internals, and the nostalgia of 6502 computing. He explains how Compiler Explorer helps developers understand assembly output, manage ABI constraints, and debug compiler bugs, while also detailing the security and privacy challenges of running arbitrary code on a public web service. Godbolt also shares insights into the BBC Micro's hardware quirks, the impact of Hyrum's Law on legacy systems, and the shift from transparent hardware to opaque modern processors.

    EDA & CAD toolsEmbedded firmware
    7 chapters

  • The Pragmatic Embedded Podcast · 59m

    100 Episodes! Break Out the Champagne! A Retrospective

    Joe Schneider and Jacob Beningo interview founders Luca Ingianni and Jeff Gable of the Agile Embedded Podcast, discussing their origin story as solo consultants who started the show in 2021 without prior connection. The hosts share war stories about difficult debugging challenges, including a one-line interrupt fix that took five days and a temperature-dependent DDR RAM failure that required two months to resolve. They also analyze the current state of the industry, debating whether AI is following the Gartner hype cycle like Agile did and predicting a future focus on requirements engineering and AI integration in embedded development.

    Embedded firmwareAI & machine learning
    8 chapters

  • Embedded.fm · 1h 06m

    191: What, Yogurt!?!

    Hosts Elecia White and Christopher White answer listener emails, covering topics from I2C pitfalls and RTOS choices to advice for students and engineers dealing with legacy code. They discuss the 'March Micro Madness' dev kit tournament, automation in embedded testing, and the challenges of refactoring a 60,000-line monolithic codebase. The episode also includes career advice for undergraduates and a discussion on short stories.

    Embedded firmwareCareers & education
    9 chapters

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Oxide and Friends. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.