newbie building a scratch-built computer

I've just got to a major milestone on a 6502 based prototype (ie it actually runs my code :) and I've got to say I felt I'd actually achieved something special after debugging with nowt but a meter and led+resistor probe(s). Being so restricted in the tools I had really made me *think* about what to test and the end result is that I know exactly how the thing works. Sorry Tony, but I was really glad I was working on a breadboard! Someone else has said on this thread that programming at the machine level can inform what you do when working higher up the stack and they were spot on - it might not get you past the HR drones any easier but it _will_ make you a better programmer. If this is a first project then I'd say keep it simple - 6502 or Z80 would seem like the right kind of area to be in, plenty of good internet resources too. Being a 6502 fanboy since about 1982, I'm biased, of course. -- Pete Edwards "Prediction is very difficult, especially if it's about the future" - Niels Bohr