You may have heard of HOT Z and its decendent, HOT Z-II, and wondered why you haven’t seen any reviews on it. I’ve noticed that other publications are promising reviews “in the next issue,” so I gather others are having the same problem we are; HOT Z is a very difficult program to do justice to. It is more than “just a program”; think of it more as an alternate operating system. Think of it as a package that turns your humble ZX81/TS into a fullfledged 280 development tool. Think of it as being the envy of every other Z80-based machine and you’ll start to gain some insight into the scope and usefulness of HOT Z-II.
I don’t say all this lightly. While we’ve been reviewing only those products we feel are worthwhile, there are products for which even the highest praise seems inadequate. HOT Z-II is such a program. How does one review such a thing? What reviewer is up to the challenge? Well, once again Tom (always the sucker for a good challenge) has decided to write the much-deserved review. But meanwhile, I’ll try to get some of the superlatives out of the way so he can spend more time on actual description. So consider this “not-a-review” a personal testimonial, or overview, of HOT Z-II; the actual review will appear in the next issue. (Heard that somewhere before, have you?)
So what could make me so excited about a software package? The analogy used by the author to describe the original HOT-Z was something to the effect that it “turns your ZX into a highperformance hot rod.” To continue the analogy, HOT Z-I1 turns it into a blown fuel racer, Your command over the Z80 is complete; on other machines, it would replace a ML monitor, full assembler, debugger/single-stepper, disassembler, and several other highly useful utilities as transfers and code relocation. If writing machine-code has struck you as a colossal hassle, HOT Z-II will change your mind quite completely; entering and de-bugging assembly level machine code is virtually as easy and as “friendly” as working with BASIC using the good ole ZX ROM.
I demonstrated the program to three assemblylanguage programmers for other machines, and all were floored by the program’s capabilities, One fellow, a long-time TRS-80 Model I programmer, almost couldn’t contain himself; “Omigod, an interpretive assembler!” was his first reaction when I demonstrated entering/editing code using Z80 mnemonics. While not quite accurate, the analogy is a good one. Unlike most assemblers where you first enter the source code, then assemble into machine code, HOT Z-II assembles each instruction as you enter it, and then immediately disassembles it! You see the new hex object code appear just like magic! There’s also extensive syntax-checking as you enter ‘ your ML commands; just like your BASIC, an error cursor appears to mark any boo~boos. Another programmer, who specializes in 68000 development programming, walked off with a dazed look in his eyes after I took him on a brief tour through HOT ZII. I don’t think he’ll ever recover from the shock he got when I told him it only costs $25.
Believe it or not, there is no other product quite like this for any other machine. If you have a Sinclair/Timex, you NEED this program, If you don’t, you should buy a Sinclair/Timex simply so you can use this program. If you’re even the slightest bit interested in machine code and full control of your CPU, HOT Z-II should be the first thing on your list of “things to get.” Only if you’re perfectly content to stay in the BASIC ROM will HOT Z remain idle.
Many of us (myself included) started out learning about machine code with the help of the Bug-Byte ZXAS and ZXDB programs, While ZXAS is quite good, and I would still recommend it to beginners, ZXDB is (in my opinion) almost useless; if you’ve successfully used these programs you will be quite amazed at how much easier it all becomes with HOT Z, There is simply no comparison, The thought that went into HOT Z is pure genius, and HOT Z II is even better, The care and dedication invested in the project is obvious from the moment you unpack that big envelope and find truly massive amounts of documentation, After having the program for several months, I’m still finding new things to do with it; and surprise, it’s all there in the documentation.
Like Tom Woods’ stuff, the manual to HOT Z II is a formidable work in its own right; unlike some documentation which is mostly filler, the HOT Z manual is packed -something you actually have to READ, and re-read, to get the most from this cornucopia of ML programmer’s utilities.
I could go on and on, But instead, I’ll let Tom do the hard part and simply close off with this recommendation:
BUY HOT Z… BUY HOT Z… BUY HOT Z…
Get it from Sinware, Box 8032, Santa Fe, NM 87504. Cost: $25 + $3 S@H. TS2068 users: don’t feel left out; HOT Z II is now available for your machine also !!! (same price, too!)