Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!fjcp60!golds
From: golds@fjcnet.GOV (Rich Goldschmidt)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Compilers taking advantage of architectural enhancements
Message-ID: <339@fjcp60.GOV>
Date: 18 Oct 90 14:02:59 GMT
References: <1990Oct9> <3300194@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <11922@ganymede.inmos.co.uk> <2649@l.cc.purdue.edu>
Organization: Federal Judicial Center, Washington, D.C.
Lines: 29

In article <2649@l.cc.purdue.edu>, cik@l.cc.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes:
> If we limit languages and compilers to what is taught to CS graduate
> students now, we can only freeze them at the present sorry state.  There
> Herman Rubin, Dept. of Statistics, Purdue Univ., West Lafayette IN47907
> Phone: (317)494-6054
> hrubin@l.cc.purdue.edu (Internet, bitnet)	{purdue,pur-ee}!l.cc!cik(UUCP)

I was not trying to suggest that compiler technology should be frozen.  I
thought I was suggesting an area of research for compiler designers.
The point of automating compiler generation is not necessarily to produce
a final product, but to couple compiler development more tightly with
chip development, and avoid the kind of situation we see with the i860
where there is no compiler which can really take advantage of the chip
long after its introduction.  By using an automatically generated compiler
early in the chip design process, it might be clear very quickly that certain 
features will require substantial effort to take advantage of, and either
plan for that effort far in advance, or decide that it might be more 
productive to consider alternate designs.  I would think this would be a
very fertile area for research by chip manufacturers, since the sooner they
can get a compiler available the better off they are in selling their chips.
They will still need experts to enhance automaticaly generated compilers,
but at least they have a first cut more quickly, and get better feedback
early in the design process.  I am surprised by the lack of interest in this 
concept among this group, but maybe I don't know enough to see the flaws in 
my suggestions.

-- 
Rich Goldschmidt: uunet!fjcp60!golds or golds@fjc.gov
Commercialization of space is the best way to escape the zero-sum game.