Beautiful article. Thank you very much for this moment of nostalgia.
Yes, I own a ZX Spectrum 48K. My first real programs were written in BASIC, pascal and assembler on Spectrum.
I remember I had to compile my longer Pascal programs from a cassette :)
I wrote my first computer game in Spectrum BASIC.
My best program so far was 800 bytes long. A ZX80 disassembler including command line interface and several really nice features :)
Yes, I was counting cycles and optimizing code all the time.
I was dreaming machine code.
Thanks again for this tear of beautiful memory in my eye!
I remember not being able to get to grips with Pascal at all: it completely baffled me! A few years later I got Turbo Pascal for the PC and it all clicked into place, but the Spectrum one defeated me. :(
I never wrote anything as sophisticated as a disassembler, but I did write a large, multi-function drawing program that piece-by-piece I gradually converted to machine code. Ah, that was fun!
I introduced Turbo Pascal to Optimal Software where I worked at the time (can't remember if that was before you joined up). Before that we were using a really crappy version of basic on the Husky Hunters. So did you discover Turbo Pascal before or after you joined O.S.?
After - I'd never even used a PC before I joined Optimal! I remember you teaching me the fundamentals of Pascal: before that, I'd never been able to grasp it - so I have you to thank!