Newsgroups: comp.arch
Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!torsqnt!lethe!tvcent!comspec!scocan!ron
From: ron@sco.COM (Ron Irvine)
Subject: Re: What is the ratio of programs sizes CISC versus RISC
Organization: SCO Canada, Inc. (formerly HCR Corporation)
Date: Fri, 14 Jun 1991 19:16:15 GMT
Message-ID: <1991Jun14.191615.2428@sco.COM>
References: <3429@crdos1.crd.ge.COM> <1991Jun13.173625.24315@rice.edu> <1991Jun14.001039.4172@shinobu.sgi.com>
Sender: news@sco.COM (News administration)

In article <1991Jun14.001039.4172@shinobu.sgi.com> rodman@sgi.com (Paul K. Rodman) writes:
>In article <1991Jun13.173625.24315@rice.edu> preston@ariel.rice.edu (Preston Briggs) writes:
>>pb@idca.tds.philips.nl (Peter Brouwer) writes:
>>>| Who can give me some information about the ratio of program sizes of RISC
>>>| versus CISC. Code size (text) and total executable file size, both 32
>>>bit systems, both unix flavors.
>
>>I don't much like this sort of comparison.
>>.....
>>Of course, I'd really prefer to count delays caused by I-cache misses.
>>
>>Preston Briggs
>
>Right on. Of course you should at itlb misses and text page faults to
>really be totally fair...:-)

There are many application where performance is not critical
but size is.  I chose the NS32000 processor for a job that required
lots of code in EPROM (over 1 Meg.).  The 32000 is a very
compact code machine, plus it had import/export addressing that
allowed dynamic shared libraries in Eprom!  Performance of the
machine was not a problem since the communication lines to
and from the machine were the bottle neck.  However, the
cost and size of the Eprom was a problem (this was back in
1985).  Code size costs in ram/eprom/disk space and expense.
Some times you can live with the cost, some times you can not.
CISC verus RISC gives product designers an option.