Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!amdcad!mozart.amd.com!cayman!brett From: brett@cayman.amd.com (Brett Stewart) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: processor for graphics terminal [was: PC/AT clones with RISC cpu] Summary: How but RISC CPU with AT compatibility? Message-ID: <1990Nov12.173728.20026@mozart.amd.com> Date: 12 Nov 90 17:37:28 GMT References: <0093F1A8.A28E4920@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> <1990Nov3.052952.1786@zoo.toronto.edu> <0093F295.10626840@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> Sender: usenet@mozart.amd.com (Usenet News) Organization: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc., Austin, Texas Lines: 61 In article <0093F295.10626840@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: >In article <1990Nov3.052952.1786@zoo.toronto.edu>, henry@zoo.toronto.edu (Henry Spencer) writes: >>In article <0093F1A8.A28E4920@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU> sysmgr@KING.ENG.UMD.EDU (Doug Mohney) writes: >>>...use RISC processor and stick in Soft-PC in ROMs... Some makers of 29K-based X terminals are considering doing something similar to this. The idea is Xterm/PC/3270 based on a software switch. Only one neat, quiet box on the desktop. >> >>A small practical difficulty with this approach is that Soft PC is licensed >>software. It also does a less than wonderful job of emulation, as our >>department is finding out on a bunch of DEC RISC workstations for undergrad >>teaching... I had the good fortune to host a COMPCON session a few years ago ('89) that was quite well attended. The subject was execution of a guest architecture on a host. There were to be three papers: Luther Johnson, then of Phoenix Technology, on Phoenix's MIMIC-derived version od DOS on 'other' John Banning, then (and possibly now - are you still there John?) of Hunter Systems, on Hunter's compile-the-binaries strategy of DOS on Unix, and Insignia Solutions on SoftPC strategy. Unfortunately, Insignia was a no-show to the session, so I did not get to learn more than is in the published papers. My understanding is that the Insignia guys are switching over to the Phoenix method, and licensing some of Phoenix' technology. As for pricing, I dont know about SoftPC at retail, but the OEM pricing I have heard shouldn't make anyone blink. Interested persons can see about this technology by referring to the paper, by Cathy May, 'MIMIC: A fast System 370 simulator' or something like that, in the proceedings of an '87 SIGPLAN symposium on interpretation. This paper is more a starting point than a comprehensive how-to paper. Many customers of our AMD 29K are interested in preserving old binaries of CISC machines by using a pure-software, or hardware-assisted technique to allow them to execute on the 29K. I believe the preference for the 29K architecture for this (and hence the relevance of this posting) is due to the ability of the 29K to store a model of the 'volatile state' of the guest architecture in its capacious register file and still have enough room left over to run the MIMIC-type part of the interpretative system. On the subject of architecture neutrality, did anybody visit the OSF's demonstratiomn of 4 different Architecture-Neutral-Distribution- Format (ANDF) technology last week? Best Regards; Brett Stewart Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 1-512-462-5321 FAX 5900 E. Ben White Blvd MS561 1-512-462-4336 Telephone Austin, Texas 78741 USA brett@cayman.amd.com