What practical learning do you obtain from your college's teaching of the 8085? It hasn't been manufactured since '89 or so. Is it still available where you live? Does anyone use it in practical applications? I'm sure it still does everything it ever did, but how avaiable is it? I find it odd that your college would teach 8085 when nearly everything on the 8085 is compatible with the 8086/8088, which are essentially hardware compatible (with a few rather minor exceptions), and that would make the PC a hospitable environment for development.

The 8255 is not an 8085-specific device, nor is it 8080-specific, or 8086-specific. Because it lacks the internal address latch of the 8155 and 8156, it isn't really 8085/86, or, for that matter, 805x-compatible, per-se.

Have you found it adequate for current applications, or are you simply addressing the fact that it is assigned in conjunction with the rather old and no-longer-supported architecture of the 8080/8085? I've always found it lacking in output current. Since some of today's circuits are less demanding in that respect, it's possible it will work out better today than it did in the days when it was a popular part.

Do you find it valuable to have your institution teach you 8085, which you can't use in practical work, when they could accomplish essentially the same thing by teaching 8086, which would, at least, find native support on your PC?

RE