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From: pcm@iwarpj.intel.com (Phil C. Miller)
Newsgroups: comp.os.minix
Subject: Re: 286 (was re: Compress)
Message-ID: <4686@omepd.UUCP>
Date: 22 Jul 89 14:24:35 GMT
References: <4660@crash.cts.com> <2916@ast.cs.vu.nl>
Sender: news@omepd.UUCP
Reply-To: pcm@iwarpj.UUCP (Phil C. Miller)
Organization: Intel Corp., Hillsboro
Lines: 28

In article <2916@ast.cs.vu.nl> ast@cs.vu.nl (Andy Tanenbaum) writes:
>In article <4660@crash.cts.com> jca@pnet01.cts.com (John C. Archambeau) writes:
>>Your insight along with anyone else's will be appreciated as always...
>
>I regard the 286 as a transient.  It and its weird little segments will
>eventually pass from view.  I don't want to do any work on the compiler
>or system to cater to it.  Too much trouble.  

Two points:

1. AT class machines using the 286 are in EXTREMELY widespread use, both
   in the University community and in the hacker community.  Being one of
   the people in the latter group, I understand what you're saying: the 286
   is not everyone's favorite architecture.  On the other hand, not everyone
   can afford to go out and buy a 386 box.  I think that the 286 will be
   with us for a long time.

2. You probably don't need to work on a 286 compiler.  Several people in the
   Minix community, including me, have offered in the past to contribute
   their time to produce a compiler which understands the 286.  The offer is
   still open.  I'm sure that enough interested parties could be found to
   port the libraries, commands, etc.

>Andy Tanenbaum (ast@cs.vu.nl)


Phil Miller
{...}!tektronix!ogccse!pcm