Alice Vinogradova ported a database, ZVDB-Z80, from SAP's ABAP language to the Z80 processor. This vector database operates independently, eschewing external solutions. Both ABAP and Z80 were created during an era where resource constraints shaped development strategies. Vinogradova emphasized the value of old optimization techniques, highlighting how her Z80 assembly version of ZVDB only runs 3-6 times slower than the original ABAP, despite the Z80's significant clock speed disadvantage. She concludes that principles derived from Z80 programming practices remain effective in contemporary software development.
When I built ZVDB, I deliberately applied every Z80 optimization I knew. Why? Because these 'old' techniques are timeless - they just happen to make modern code blazingly fast.
These optimizations were born for the Z80. They just happen to be universally optimal.
Every Z80 lesson I applied to ABAP remains valid on modern hardware: Lookup tables are always faster than calculation.
ABAP (born 1983) and Z80 (born 1976) are practically contemporaries. They grew up in the same era of computing-when memory was precious, cycles were counted, and every byte mattered.
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