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From: sambo@ukma.UUCP (Father of micro-S)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Flaw in the architecture of the WE32100
Message-ID: <2019@ukma.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 5-Aug-85 01:20:48 EDT
Article-I.D.: ukma.2019
Posted: Mon Aug  5 01:20:48 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 6-Aug-85 08:25:44 EDT
Distribution: net
Organization: U of Kentucky, Mathematical Sciences, Lexington KY
Lines: 15


     I am wondering if including the Processor Status Word (PSW) as one of the
sixteen registers of the WE32100 could be considered a design flaw.  Most of
the addressing modes in which any other register could be used are illegal if
the PSW is used.  Wouldn't it be better to provide a tenth general-purpose
register, and have special instructions to manipulate the PSW?  I don't think
this would add much complexity to the chip or to its instruction set.
-----------------------------------------
Samuel A. Figueroa, Dept. of CS, Univ. of KY, Lexington, KY  40506-0027
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