Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!lloyd!cprice
From: cprice@mips.COM (Charlie Price)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Compilers taking advantage of architectural enhancements
Message-ID: <42968@mips.mips.COM>
Date: 9 Nov 90 08:29:55 GMT
References: <1990Oct9> <3300194@m.cs.uiuc.edu> <11922@ganymede.inmos.co.uk> <8424@scolex.sco.COM> <2694@l.cc.purdue.edu> <1990Oct31.203932.26325@cs.cmu.edu> <36493@super.ORG>
Sender: root@mips.COM
Reply-To: cprice@mips.COM (Charlie Price)
Organization: MIPS Computer Systems
Lines: 44

In article <36493@super.ORG> rminnich@super.org (Ronald G Minnich) writes:
>In article <1990Oct31.203932.26325@cs.cmu.edu>, spot@WOOZLE.GRAPHICS.CS.CMU.EDU (Scott Draves) writes:
>
>|> ... keep in mind the application mix that uProcs are
>       ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>|> actually used for.
>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
>I understand your point, and this is an old argument, but it is beginning to 
>sound parlously close to circular logic: 
>A) I won't implement x because no one currently uses it
>U) I can't use this uP, since it can't do x, better go use something else
>   (two years later)
>A) See what i mean? nobody uses x!

Your dialogue is about a *product* from a *commercial* computer maker,
and it is pretty much the right one considering that commercial enterprises
exist mostly to generate return on investment for the people who own them.

Exploring the use of "x" is what "research" is suppose to do, isn't it?
At a more pragmatic level, exploring the use of "x" in an end-user
environment is frequently "research financed by a venture capitalist".
Hopefully industrial research folks, academic research folks,
and entrepreneurs are all out spending late nights creating a market
for "x" which can be satisfied by the commercial types and enjoyed
by the masses.

It is probably good to keep in mind that there are several distinct
perspectives among those of us who meet in this particular netnews byway.
One is the perspective of people who would like to make and sell a bunch of
machines today or tomorrow and show a reasonable profit while having a
(reasonably) good time.
Another is the perspective of people who are thinking about how to build
machines to solve problem "xyzzy" -- in which they are deeply interested.
Another is the perspective of someone thinking about good ways to use
all this incredible machine-building technology that we are developing.
Another...
Some people are interested in architecture at multiple levels...

Keeping this diversity in mind might have a salutary influence
on the "discussions" that we create.
-- 
Charlie Price    cprice@mips.mips.com        (408) 720-1700
MIPS Computer Systems / 928 Arques Ave. / Sunnyvale, CA   94086-23650