Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!uakari.primate.wisc.edu!dali.cs.montana.edu!milton!uw-beaver!Teknowledge.COM!unix!garth!fouts@bozeman.ingr.com (Martin Fouts)
From: fouts@bozeman.ingr.com (Martin Fouts)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.super
Subject: Re: Cray tidbits
Message-ID: <526@garth.UUCP>
Date: 29 Jun 90 16:32:53 GMT
References: <354@garth.UUCP> <1990May23.041119.4359@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu> <390@garth.UUCP> <472@garth.UUCP> <27736@metropolis.super.ORG>
Sender: fouts@garth.UUCP
Distribution: comp
Organization: INTERGRAPH (APD) -- Palo Alto, CA
Lines: 33
In-reply-to: lerici@super.ORG's message of 18 Jun 90 23:09:02 GMT

In article <27736@metropolis.super.ORG> lerici@super.ORG (Peter W. Brewer) writes:

   Hmmm. well yes, editors should run on supercomputers dedicated to doing fast
   floating point or large integer computations. Emacs belongs on the Cray of
   course.. :-) I think a nice RISC based front end to compile/edit etc. (after
   all aren't compilers/link EDITORS etc just editors? ) may be enough .. let
   Floating Point do Floating Point. Parallel Compilers/Parsers are nice but
   how complicated/how easy to debug? how about extensibility etc? So compilers
   don't run on the CM.. do they run in the Cray or Convex Vector Units? Thats
   where alot of the performance comes from... I think Unicos etc. should run
   on the ForeGround Processors on the Crays... it creates too many problems
   running on the backends...

This is an old religious argument.  The simple refutation is that a
Cray isn't just a Floating Point (sic) unit.  On a Cray system, as
delivered to a customer, typically 1/4 of the manufacturing costs are
for the cpu and the rest for the non cpu.  Of the 1/4, maybe half is
floating point.  There is no system on the market for which the CPU is
more than half the manufacturing cost.

Besides, the users are more valuable that the tools they use.  Let's
try to make the machines usable, shall we?

Marty
--
Martin Fouts

 UUCP:  ...!pyramid!garth!fouts  ARPA:  apd!fouts@ingr.com
PHONE:  (415) 852-2310            FAX:  (415) 856-9224
 MAIL:  2400 Geng Road, Palo Alto, CA, 94303

If you can find an opinion in my posting, please let me know.
I don't have opinions, only misconceptions.