Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!apple!portal!cup.portal.com!mmm
From: mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: What you need for crash recovery (was Re: Computers for use
Message-ID: <39039@cup.portal.com>
Date: 8 Feb 91 05:13:40 GMT
References: <1991Feb02.112415.6180@kithrup.COM> <1204@dms.UUCP>
Organization: The Portal System (TM)
Lines: 14

Quoting from the Intel 80C196KB User's Guide:

"It is recommended that unused areas of code be filled with NOPs and
periodic jumps to an error routine or RST (reset chip) instructions.
This is particularly important in the code around lookup tables,
since if lookup tables are executed undesired results will occur.
Wherever space allows, each table should be surrounded by 7 NOPs
(the longest 80C196KB instruction has 7 bytes) and a RST or jump to
error routine instruction.  Since RST is a one-byte instruction,
the NOPs are not needed if RSTs are used instead of jumps to an error
routine.  This will help to insure a speedy recovery should the
processor have a glitch in the program flow."

Obviously some people have worse error recovery problems than others, eh?