SectorZ: A C Compiler in 733 Bytes of Z80 Assembly
A tiny C compiler written entirely in Z80 assembly that reads source code over serial and generates executable Z80 machine code, inspired by SectorC's 512-byte x86-16 compiler.
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Recent Articles
Review of "Getting Started with FPGAs" by Russell Merrick
A comprehensive review of "Getting Started with FPGAs: Digital Circuit Design, Verilog, and VHDL for Beginners" by Russell Merrick, published by No Starch Press. This book provides an accessible on-ramp to field programmable gate array development, covering Boolean algebra, flip-flops, simulation, state machines, FPGA primitives, binary math, and I/O through hands-on projects targeting Lattice iCE40 hardware. Merrick's dual-language approach presenting every code example in both Verilog and VHDL, combined with his years of educational content creation at nandland.com, produces a uniquely approachable beginner text that demystifies the parallel-thinking paradigm shift required for hardware description.
Three Paths to Rust on Custom Hardware
There are multiple ways to get Rust running on custom or retro CPUs. This article explores three approaches—full LLVM backends, Rust-to-C transpilation via Eurydice, and manual no_std FFI—with a practical walkthrough of transpiling Rust to C and compiling it for the Z80 with SDCC.
The Z-80 Microcomputer Handbook: A 1978 Reference That Outlived Its Era
A review of William Barden Jr.'s 1978 classic "The Z-80 Microcomputer Handbook" - a comprehensive technical reference that covered hardware, software, and complete microcomputer systems built around Zilog's iconic Z80 processor.
Partial LLM Loading: Running Models Too Big for VRAM
An exploration of techniques for running large language models that exceed your GPU's VRAM capacity by loading only portions of the model at a time—layer streaming, CPU offloading, and the performance trade-offs involved.
Part 3: Building an LLVM Backend for Sampo - Rust Runs on a Custom 16-bit RISC CPU
A detailed account of implementing a complete LLVM backend for the Sampo 16-bit RISC CPU, enabling Rust compilation. This project demonstrates how AI-assisted development with Claude Code can tackle complex compiler engineering challenges.
Part 2: Implementing Sampo on the ULX3S FPGA
Bringing the Sampo 16-bit RISC CPU to silicon on the ULX3S development board with fully open source tooling and Amaranth HDL.
How We Learned Hardware in 1983
A look at how engineers learned to build microprocessor systems in 1983, using James Coffron's "Z80 Applications" as a lens to compare with modern Arduino and Raspberry Pi tutorials. The depth of understanding required was dramatically different.
George Morrow: Pioneer of Personal Computing
A biography of George Morrow (1934-2003), the iconoclastic pioneer who helped shape the early microcomputer industry through innovative hardware design, industry standardization efforts, and a commitment to making computing affordable and accessible.
Discretizing Continuous ML Models: Offline Ballistic Coefficient Corrections via Lookup Table Approximation
An academic examination of discretizing continuous machine learning models into offline lookup tables for ballistic coefficient corrections. This paper presents a methodology for converting ML-derived velocity-dependent BC corrections into caliber-specific binary tables, enabling accurate trajectory predictions without network connectivity. We analyze the trade-offs between approximation fidelity and practical utility, demonstrating that piecewise-linear interpolation over a 5-dimensional parameter space achieves sub-5% deviation from continuous ML predictions across most of the flight envelope, with predictable degradation in transonic regions where non-linearities dominate.