Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!sco!seanf
From: seanf@sco.COM (Sean Fagan)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: What is a Mainframe?
Keywords: micro mini main
Message-ID: <2965@scolex.sco.COM>
Date: 1 Jul 89 22:25:25 GMT
References: <125@ssp1.idca.tds.philips.nl> <20752@winchester.mips.COM> <4400@ficc.uu.net> <187@uvacs.cs.Virginia.EDU> <355@torsqnt.UUCP> <156@van-bc.UUCP> <518@unicads.UUCP>
Reply-To: seanf@scolex.UUCP (Sean Fagan)
Distribution: comp.arch
Organization: The Committee to Elect Seymour and Dennis God
Lines: 25

In article <518@unicads.UUCP> les@unicads.UUCP (Les Milash) writes:
>In article <156@van-bc.UUCP> sl@.UUCP (Stuart Lynne) writes:
>>If it's design/architecture dates to the late eighties its a .......
>							     _R_I_S_C_

Really?  Wow.  I'm sure Seymour Cray, who designed, in the early-to-mid
'60's, a machine with 70-odd instructions, and most of the features associated
with "RISC," would be very surprised to hear that.

RISC, as a concept, is decades old, now.  Cray did the Cybers that way to
make them run quickly; at about the same time, IBM had a research project
going on to see if it could, indeed, run more quickly.  I'm fairly certain
Seymour did *his* because he hardwires his machines (no micro-code on *real*
computers 8-)), while IBM was just seeing how true and useful the 80-20 rule
was.  (I don't *think* either party was influenced by the other, but, since
I haven't had a chance to talk to Seymour [aka God 8-)], I can't be
certain.)

Then, of course, Universities got a hold of the whole idea, and it took off.
The rest is, as they say, history.

-- 
Sean Eric Fagan  |    "Uhm, excuse me..."
seanf@sco.UUCP   |      -- James T. Kirk (William Shatner), ST V: TFF
(408) 458-1422   | Any opinions expressed are my own, not my employers'.