Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcvax!ukc!inmos!braa!davidb
From: davidb@braa.inmos.co.uk (David Boreham)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Claimed bug in 80286
Message-ID: <1877@brwa.inmos.co.uk>
Date: 21 Aug 89 14:35:56 GMT
References: <1989Aug13.023601.594@utzoo.uucp> <310@hitech.ht.oz> <21352@cup.portal.com>
Sender: news@inmos.co.uk
Reply-To: davidb@inmos.co.uk (David Boreham)
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In article <21352@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>
> .... (deleted) .....
>The 386 and beyond have both device type and mask stepping numbers which
>appear in one of the registers (DX, I believe) following reset initialization.
>I think the 286 also had this.  Obviously, all computer architectures should
>incorporate this feature.

Yes, this is fine and we do it. Unfortunately it gives you the added 
problem that you need to update the ID on *every* change to the device.
Sometimes the changes required to change the ID are more work than the
actual bug-fix or whatever.

David Boreham, INMOS Limited | mail(uk): davidb@inmos.co.uk or ukc!inmos!davidb
Bristol,  England            |      (us): uunet!inmos-c!davidb
+44 454 616616 ex 543        | Internet : @col.hp.com:davidb@inmos-c