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From: wmb@sun.uucp (Mitch Bradley)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro.68k,net.micro.16k
Subject: Re: 16k vs 68k vs 432
Message-ID: <420@sun.uucp>
Date: Sun, 15-Jan-84 14:17:17 EST
Article-I.D.: sun.420
Posted: Sun Jan 15 14:17:17 1984
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Jan-84 01:53:15 EST
References: <524@nsc.UUCP>, <220@dual.UUCP> <531@nsc.UUCP> <253@kobold.UUCP>
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
Lines: 35

> As a software engineer, I'm sick and tired of producing software
> work-a-rounds for hardware designed by people who think I have nothing
> better to do than deal with the intellectual challenge of getting that
> hardware to work.  These same designers often have the gall to complain
> about how awkward the software is to deal with.

> If you think people complain about unix, just think what it would be
> like if it was designed like a typical microprocessor support chip:
> read-only files, write-only files, editors that only work on 16-line
> files, ....

I agree that lots of chips are hard to deal with, and that a lot of
hardware is poorly-designed from a software standpoint.  On the other
hand, the constraints that hardware designers work under are often
different from those of software engineers.  Silicon, in particular, is
an unforgiving medium.  A mistake takes months to correct.  Every
feature is additional complexity, which translates to increased risk,
longer time to market, and more silicon area (which translates to
reduced yield and thus higher cost).

The pat answer to your complaint is, if you don't like a chip, don't
use it.  Unfortunately, there may be no alternative.  Why?  Because the
manufacturer who tried to add all the nice features isn't shipping yet,
while the manufacturer who traded niceness for getting functionality to
the market sooner is raking in the dough selling his brain-damaged
chips.  Look at Intel with the 8080, then the 8086.

The point I am trying to make is that everybody has constraints,
including hardware designers.  Functionality sells, not elegance.

Lets wish for both, but take what we can get.

				Hardwarily speaking,
				Mitch Bradley
				Sun Microsystems, Inc.