Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!att!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!ncst.ernet.in!shri
From: shri@ncst.ernet.in (H.Shrikumar)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Optimal Computer Architectures
Message-ID: <1093@shakti.ncst.ernet.in>
Date: 19 Nov 90 04:20:09 GMT
References: <1990Nov8.212412.14317@funet.fi> <3700@rwthinf.UUCP>
Reply-To: shri@ncst.ernet.in (H.Shrikumar )
Organization: National Centre for Software Technology, Bombay, INDIA
Lines: 29

In article <3700@rwthinf.UUCP> 

>Norwitz Neal writes:
>>I have a recursive algorithm that I would like to run as fast as possible.
>>I am running a part of it on a SPARCstation SLC.  But at this rate, it might
>>finnish in a couple of years!!

and berg%cip-s01.informatik.rwth-aachen.de@unido.bitnet writes:

>Why don't you have a look at the FORTH-chip (don't remember the manufacturer,
>the part number should be something like 4016 if I recall correctly), the
>processor has no general purpose registers, just a stack cache, the thing

   The start-up that thought up the 4016 had start-up problems, and
sold the technology to Harris. Harris cleaned up a lot of the hardware
bugs in the Novix 4016, christened it the RTX 2000 (*R*eal *T*ime e*X*press),
played with it for a little while, and decided to discontinue the line.

   Sad. See other posts in this newgroup and comp.lan.forth for more
details.

   But your point on Stack Caching machines and recursive routines is
well taken.

   Just to comment, I think the original poster was talking about
mature machines, and the Novix/RTX was yet no more than a chip and
an architecture concept. (25ns RAM, three bank of it, no OS yet ...)

-- shrikumar ( shri@ncst.in )