Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!exodus!rbbb.Eng.Sun.COM!chased
From: chased@rbbb.Eng.Sun.COM (David Chase)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Coprocessors - Business?
Message-ID: <10501@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM>
Date: 26 Mar 91 21:36:15 GMT
References: <2892@megatek.megatek.uucp>
Sender: news@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
Lines: 24

In <2892@megatek.megatek.uucp> mark@megatek.UUCP (mark thompson)
writes:

>Whenever I read architecture manuals for (eg. the Moto 68000 series),
>they invariably support several coprocessors. Also invariably, one of
>those coprocessors is for floating point.
...
>Has anyone tried to do something wonderful with one of the undedicated
>coprocessors, examples of wonderful being I/O channel controllers or a
>business instruction set?

I know of one company that makes/made special boards containing 68020s
with several coprocessors (multiple FPU coPs, I think) for their
Special Problems, but last I heard they had decided that this was just
a good way to get locked in to old technology, and were porting to
mostly-straight Unix on whatever hot boxes they could find.

Same story, same moral.  Sticking to interchangeable commodity
software and hardware is the best way to go fast in the long run
(generally speaking, of course, but I think the general case occurs
much more often than many people think).

David Chase
Sun