Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!olivea!orc!inews!mipos2!dlau
From: dlau@mipos2.intel.com (Dan Lau)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.intel
Subject: Re: Status of Bid Endian Support in i860?
Keywords: i860 Big Endian
Message-ID: <125@inews.intel.com>
Date: 18 Sep 90 16:28:24 GMT
References: <1484@vitec.UUCP> <6966@darkstar.ucsc.edu>
Sender: news@inews.intel.com
Reply-To: dlau@mipos2.UUCP (Dan Lau)
Distribution: na
Organization: Microprocessor Component Group, Intel Corp., Santa Clara, CA
Lines: 21

In article <6966@darkstar.ucsc.edu> bobeson@saturn.ucsc.edu (Robert Ellefson) writes:
>In article <1484@vitec.UUCP> nathan@vitec.vitec.us.com (Nathan Banks) writes:
>>We seem to encounter problems when trying to run in Big Endian mode on
>
>We had purchased a star860 development system from intel,
>The system was not able to enter Big Endian mode, although the chip
>was supposed to work Big Endian.  This was a design decision by
>the star860 developers.   Your system may suffer a similar fate.

The Star860 development system software was set up for little endian mode
execution.  Intel can also provide big endian versions of the source to
these tools (for a fee :-).  Many people are using the i860 in big endian
mode: HP, Sun, for example.  Both SKY and Mercury also provide i860 add-in
boards for the Sun and use big endian mode.

Big endian compilers for the i860 are available from Metaware and Compass,
other companies may also provide big endian support in the future.

Maybe Nathan can elaborate on his "problems" a little more, so the rest
of us can understand what it is that he is running into.
	Dan Lau