A couple of decades ago I used to write Z80 assembler in my spare time. I’d bought a book on “Programing with the Z80 and CP/M” or some such. Sadly I no longer have it. I remember very little of what was in it except that there was an appendix titled “Programmers Nostrums” which sounds like something you might pin to the wall of a monastery.

There are some points that have stayed with me, not necessarily in the right order:

• Don’t try to code your way out of a problem, start again.
• If the algorithms right the code writes itself.
• Use a table, even if most of the entries are the same/empty, it makes your logic simpler and computers like them (remember this was when you sweated over every byte your code used).
• Common entry, common exit (somewhat similar to the goto debates today).

There were others which I wish I could remember but the last one was

• Users are kind, thoughtful and considerate people.

That still makes me chuckle.

What would you add to the monastery notice board?

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