7 ms·

I bet a lot of us got our start doing low-level programming for the Z80. I remember learning to program assembly from the manual for a TI calculator. I'm pret

I bet a lot of us got our start doing low-level programming for the Z80. I remember learning to program assembly from the manual for a TI calculator. I'm pretty sure those things are still ubiquitous. It's probably the easiest way to learn assembly programming on real hardware anymore.

downerending 7y ago
Having no other resources, as a kid I sent Zilog a letter asking for a copy of their Z80 docs. Probably wrote it in crayon. Bless them, they sent it, and that's how I got started learning microprocessor architecture.
- tstout 7y ago
  This makes me smile!
  - downerending 7y ago
    Me too. It was essentially this, albeit a very early version: http://www.z80.info/zip/z80cpu_um.pdf http://www.z80.info/zip/z80cpu_um.pdf May the gods help any kid that tries to learn Intel CPU architecture that way these days. :-)
    - mysterydip 7y ago
      "Well Johnny, the first thing to understand is how time travel works. You see, our CPUs guess at what you wanted to do next and start executing the pipeline before they know for sure, and sometimes it's wrong, and..."
- doctor_eval 7y ago
  I have the original Z80 programmer's quick reference around at home, still. If I was smart enough to know how to post a photo to HN then I would do so :)
stevekemp 7y ago
Received my first home computer, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, in 1982 or so. No working cassette drive in the house, so of course I started reading the manual. That taught me BASIC. Later I learned assembly language programming, partly via the manuals, and partly via some books at the local library. I'll always have a soft-spot for Z80 assembly, and have started to work on raw Z80 processors myself now - after spending the past year or two playing with Arduino and ESP8266 devices.
- socialdemocrat 7y ago
  Sound a lot like me in the 80s. Hard to find information. Came across random books in the library. My latest experience is with AVR assembly. What is it about Z80 that makes you prefer it? Wider variety of practical instructions? Cleaner design? This blog got me curious about looking into Z80. Not a chip I ever learned anything about. I started out as an Amiga guy and I would occasionally come across books and stuff about 6502. Z80 is just a name I heard from time to time.
  - stevekemp 7y ago
    The Z80 I enjoy because of nostalgia, largely. I started with a Z80-based system: https://blog.steve.fi/how_i_started_programming.html https://blog.steve.fi/how_i_started_programming.html The instruction set is simple, and clean. The fact that you don't need much supporting circuitry to drive it is a nice bonus, but mostly I remember coding the thing when I was 12 or so, and now I know what I'm doing for real :)

downerending 7y ago

Having no other resources, as a kid I sent Zilog a letter asking for a copy of their Z80 docs. Probably wrote it in crayon. Bless them, they sent it, and that's how I got started learning microprocessor architecture.

tstout 7y ago
This makes me smile!
- downerending 7y ago
  Me too. It was essentially this, albeit a very early version: http://www.z80.info/zip/z80cpu_um.pdf http://www.z80.info/zip/z80cpu_um.pdf May the gods help any kid that tries to learn Intel CPU architecture that way these days. :-)
  - mysterydip 7y ago
    "Well Johnny, the first thing to understand is how time travel works. You see, our CPUs guess at what you wanted to do next and start executing the pipeline before they know for sure, and sometimes it's wrong, and..."
doctor_eval 7y ago
I have the original Z80 programmer's quick reference around at home, still. If I was smart enough to know how to post a photo to HN then I would do so :)

stevekemp 7y ago

Received my first home computer, a Sinclair ZX Spectrum, in 1982 or so. No working cassette drive in the house, so of course I started reading the manual. That taught me BASIC. Later I learned assembly language programming, partly via the manuals, and partly via some books at the local library. I'll always have a soft-spot for Z80 assembly, and have started to work on raw Z80 processors myself now - after spending the past year or two playing with Arduino and ESP8266 devices.

socialdemocrat 7y ago
Sound a lot like me in the 80s. Hard to find information. Came across random books in the library. My latest experience is with AVR assembly. What is it about Z80 that makes you prefer it? Wider variety of practical instructions? Cleaner design? This blog got me curious about looking into Z80. Not a chip I ever learned anything about. I started out as an Amiga guy and I would occasionally come across books and stuff about 6502. Z80 is just a name I heard from time to time.
- stevekemp 7y ago
  The Z80 I enjoy because of nostalgia, largely. I started with a Z80-based system: https://blog.steve.fi/how_i_started_programming.html https://blog.steve.fi/how_i_started_programming.html The instruction set is simple, and clean. The fact that you don't need much supporting circuitry to drive it is a nice bonus, but mostly I remember coding the thing when I was 12 or so, and now I know what I'm doing for real :)