[TUHS] What It Takes to Read Lions in 2026

[Cameron Míċeál Tyre via TUHS]

Will,

Agreed and it applies in many similar contexts. If I was writing a book on the Sinclair ZX81 / Timex Sinclair 1000, back in say 1983, I could warn readers, "16 kB RAM pack users, don't place heavy objects on the desk unless you do so slowly and with extreme care."

Readers in 1983 would have already found out why but appreciate the reminder. A 2026 reader might have typed in, or poked in, in the case of Z80 assembly, something large, not yet have saved it to Compact Cassette, read the warning about heavy objects, slapped the book down beside the machine and _then_ found out why they shouldn't have done that.

I totally appreciate the "on hand" list, especially as I was actually considering, in light of recent events, finally reading Lions.

Have a great rest of your week,

Cameron




-------- Original Message --------
On Tuesday, 07/28/26 at 18:15 Will Senn via TUHS <tuhs at tuhs.org> wrote, in part:

These notes are themselves compressed. "HB 4-76" really means "go spend
ten minutes digging around in the Processor Handbook figuring out what
Lions assumes you already know about clear aka reset."

Lions is great, but today's reader needs more of a leg up. I think it
illustrates how much architectural knowledge his original audience could
take for granted. Nearly fifty years later, recovering that context has
become part of reading the book. So, reading through Lions in 2026 is an
archaeological dig, really :).