4 ms·

The Complete ZX Spectrum ROM disassembly (1983) [pdf]

96 points by gus_leonel 3y ago

masswerk 3y ago
This is one of the best ROM listings, I've ever seen: the comments are informative and detailed, making it easy to follow along! A great source for anyone interested in Z80 code or eager to learn.
pjmlp 3y ago
A treasure trove back in the day, one of my beloved books from the local library.
- cannam 3y ago
  Same here, I had it checked out from the library continuously for a couple of years and referred to it constantly. A terrific explanation of a super cool piece of work, full of insights. I later bought another ex-library copy that I still have. That library was so good to me! (In Crook, County Durham in north-east England) As well as providing what was probably, if I'm really honest, the most fascinating technical book of my programming career, it also had a load of LP records I wouldn't have heard anywhere else - the Go-Betweens and Peter Murphy's "Deep" I remember particularly.
  - stevedh 3y ago
    Oh that's why I could never check it out! I'm kidding - I'm in the same area and would have loved to have read this, if I'd known it existed.
jrmg 3y ago
I’d also recommend Chris Smith’s “The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to design a microcomputer” http://www.zxdesign.info/book/ http://www.zxdesign.info/book/ https://alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780956507105 https://alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780956507105 https://www.amazon.com/ZX-Spectrum-Ula-Microcomputer-Computer/dp/0956507107 https://www.amazon.com/ZX-Spectrum-Ula-Microcomputer-Compute...
Gordonjcp 3y ago
I have this book.
nottorp 3y ago
I was trying to get my hands on it behind the iron curtain when I was a kid. Never got it. But it's never too late!
- stevekemp 3y ago
  Never too late, indeed! I got into retro stuff a couple of years ago, and started with a Z80-based system with 64k that ran CP/M. For fun I wrote a trivial text-based adventure game, in assembly. Then later ported that to the ZX Spectrum. Was kinda satisfying, and I keep having recurring ideas of writing a graphical game - the main thing stopping me is a lack of real hardware. I kinda feel writing even a simple game to play on an emulator doesn't feel so satisfying. Especially given the worldofspectrum site has more games than anyone could even play in a lifetime already..
iamflimflam1 3y ago
This was such a useful book to me.
kayo_20211030 3y ago
I love it. The transcribers have a few `Drs`, but also `Biggo` and `Witchy`. There's something comforting about that.
motohagiography 3y ago
This is beautiful.
acqq 3y ago
This is a transcribed version of the original, then saved as A4 PDF. The original was, for me, more readable, being formatted for the smaller pages but using them effectively. The original can also be found on the internet, but it's a "classic" pdf of scanned images. Does anybody know if transcribed version, but either as a source document or as saved for the original, smaller format, exists? Or if somebody merged the transcribed text with the original images and made an ultimate pdf of the book?
- boygobbo 3y ago
  You can get RTF or Word versions from the project home page: http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/rom-dis/ http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/rom-dis/ and a complete ROM disassembly in assembler format (with most of the same info as the book) here: https://github.com/ZXSpectrumVault/rom-disassemblies/blob/master/Spectrum%2048K/Spectrum48.asm https://github.com/ZXSpectrumVault/rom-disassemblies/blob/ma...

96 points by gus_leonel 3y ago

This is one of the best ROM listings, I've ever seen: the comments are informative and detailed, making it easy to follow along! A great source for anyone interested in Z80 code or eager to learn.

pjmlp 3y ago

A treasure trove back in the day, one of my beloved books from the local library.

cannam 3y ago
Same here, I had it checked out from the library continuously for a couple of years and referred to it constantly. A terrific explanation of a super cool piece of work, full of insights. I later bought another ex-library copy that I still have. That library was so good to me! (In Crook, County Durham in north-east England) As well as providing what was probably, if I'm really honest, the most fascinating technical book of my programming career, it also had a load of LP records I wouldn't have heard anywhere else - the Go-Betweens and Peter Murphy's "Deep" I remember particularly.
- stevedh 3y ago
  Oh that's why I could never check it out! I'm kidding - I'm in the same area and would have loved to have read this, if I'd known it existed.

jrmg 3y ago

I’d also recommend Chris Smith’s “The ZX Spectrum ULA: How to design a microcomputer” http://www.zxdesign.info/book/ http://www.zxdesign.info/book/ https://alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780956507105 https://alibris.com/search/books/isbn/9780956507105 https://www.amazon.com/ZX-Spectrum-Ula-Microcomputer-Computer/dp/0956507107 https://www.amazon.com/ZX-Spectrum-Ula-Microcomputer-Compute...

Gordonjcp 3y ago

I have this book.

nottorp 3y ago

I was trying to get my hands on it behind the iron curtain when I was a kid. Never got it. But it's never too late!

stevekemp 3y ago
Never too late, indeed! I got into retro stuff a couple of years ago, and started with a Z80-based system with 64k that ran CP/M. For fun I wrote a trivial text-based adventure game, in assembly. Then later ported that to the ZX Spectrum. Was kinda satisfying, and I keep having recurring ideas of writing a graphical game - the main thing stopping me is a lack of real hardware. I kinda feel writing even a simple game to play on an emulator doesn't feel so satisfying. Especially given the worldofspectrum site has more games than anyone could even play in a lifetime already..

iamflimflam1 3y ago

This was such a useful book to me.

kayo_20211030 3y ago

I love it. The transcribers have a few `Drs`, but also `Biggo` and `Witchy`. There's something comforting about that.

motohagiography 3y ago

This is beautiful.

acqq 3y ago

This is a transcribed version of the original, then saved as A4 PDF. The original was, for me, more readable, being formatted for the smaller pages but using them effectively. The original can also be found on the internet, but it's a "classic" pdf of scanned images. Does anybody know if transcribed version, but either as a source document or as saved for the original, smaller format, exists? Or if somebody merged the transcribed text with the original images and made an ultimate pdf of the book?

boygobbo 3y ago
You can get RTF or Word versions from the project home page: http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/rom-dis/ http://freestuff.grok.co.uk/rom-dis/ and a complete ROM disassembly in assembler format (with most of the same info as the book) here: https://github.com/ZXSpectrumVault/rom-disassemblies/blob/master/Spectrum%2048K/Spectrum48.asm https://github.com/ZXSpectrumVault/rom-disassemblies/blob/ma...