Teaching Assembly Language Programming with ZIP, a Z80 Assembly Language Interpreter Program

This paper outlines the background of teaching needs that led to the development of an assembly language interpreter for teaching assembly language. The interpreter, called ZIP for Z80 interpreter program, is small enough to be used by a student on a modest sized Z80-based system. It greatly facilitates understanding the Z80 assembly language by allowing the student to learn it interactively. It can also be used as a debugging tool. An overview of the interpreter is given and its syntax and operation are discussed.