Z80 Compiler Visualization
Dev tools
online compiler explorer
SHOW HN2017
How HN took it
4 positive, 1 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 6 critical, out of 12 comments about the project. Thread score -0.13.
Execution: 1 for, 4 againstIdea: 3 for, 0 againstPerformance: 0 for, 2 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Impressive tool for seeing how C compiles to Z80 code
From 2 comments
This is amazing. It's particularly neat to watch how it handles things like "x * 16 + 500000" by splitting integers and using bit rotation.
rcarmo on HNwow! this is awesome! I especially like that you can pass compiler options, like -O3 and see the magic :) I wish I had something like that back in the days when I was optimizing…
skavish on HN
Nice nostalgia for Z80 and TI calculator programming
From 2 comments
This brings back a lot of memories. I remember in high school printing out a sheet of Z80 opcodes (at size 6 font), writing a program on a sheet of paper, and then manually…
Xcelerate on HNAhh. I remember doing lots of TI82/83 calculator programming in Z80 and never considering using a C to Z80 compiler since it was so suboptimal. C was considered slow and a memory…
geori on HN
Objections
Called it a live preview rather than a visualization
From 1 comment
Nice, but I wouldn't call it a visualization. More like a "live preview" or "instant compiler" or something. Also, why is it so laggy? It feels like it's being sent to a server…
trevyn on HN
Feels laggy despite running in JavaScript
From 1 comment
Nice, but I wouldn't call it a visualization. More like a "live preview" or "instant compiler" or something. Also, why is it so laggy? It feels like it's being sent to a server…
trevyn on HN
Generated code includes unnecessary optimizations misses
From 2 comments
Code generation is probably missing somewhat trivial optimizations. Here's one example: ``` int func(int x) { return x * 1; } ``` ...still produces unnecessary stack…
vardump on HNuh! Adding a number to itself for multiplication by 2 instead of one quick shift to the left?
dorfsmay on HN
Requests
Add a Z80 superoptimizer web tool
From 1 comment
It would be nice to have a superoptimizer for Z80 in a form of web tool. You provide a C expression to it and the tool will return in turn the shortest code sequence. Demosceners…
richard_shelton on HN
Support the 8085 processor
From 1 comment
Given that Z80 is super easy to learn assembly language, this is a great introduction on how C code would internally. I would suggest give the option for 8085 too as the its so…
sytelus on HN
Questions
Why is it laggy and is it server-side
From 1 comment
Nice, but I wouldn't call it a visualization. More like a "live preview" or "instant compiler" or something. Also, why is it so laggy? It feels like it's being sent to a server…
trevyn on HN
Alternatives named
godbolt.org Compiler Explorer
From 1 comment
I really like stuff like this. This tool is amazing for C++: https://godbolt.org/ It's really handy for popular architectures and it's nice that it has "real" compilers (GCC vs.…
jacobparker on HN
SDCC compiler
From 1 comment
Still not being very efficient generating Z80 code, the SDCC is amazing! :-) P.S. SDCC mirror in GitHub: https://github.com/svn2github/sdcc
faragon on HN
Hisoft Devpac
From 1 comment
at the time Z80 was popular ('87 ish) there were few/no tools outside of Hisoft Devpac (http://www.secarica.ro/images/zx/genp351.gif) neither was there any internet / forums etc.…
mtkd on HN