Another issue with Z80/8080 instruction set, if I remember correctly, is that they are not orthogonal in regards to the registers. Some opcodes only work with registers B and C, others only with D and E, and so forth.

The ugliness of x86 instruction set has a long root.

I'm one of these grumpies. Some of what I had to say may be useful to the wet-behind-the-year dopes. Not likely, though, because, back when I was at their age, I didn't listen to the old geezers, and that both helped me as well as screwed me.

So, given the rapid speed of change in the landscape of IT industry, I have to wonder how relevant our experiences and lessons would be to the young'uns.