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From: jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman)
Newsgroups: net.micro.16k
Subject: Re: National changing directions?
Message-ID: <981@mako.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 13-Dec-85 15:57:22 EST
Article-I.D.: mako.981
Posted: Fri Dec 13 15:57:22 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 16-Dec-85 05:35:57 EST
References: <6217@utzoo.UUCP>
Reply-To: jans@mako.UUCP (Jan Steinman)
Organization: Tektronix, Wilsonville OR
Lines: 18
Summary: 

In article <6217@utzoo.UUCP> henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer) writes:
>A friend pointed out something interesting:  there is a job ad in net.jobs,
>from National, asking for... RISC people!...
>
>Just how is this going to affect the existing 32000 line?  Compatibility is
>obviously out, or they wouldn't be hiring compiler and Unix people.

I don't see why "compatibility is obviously out".  A RISC design has higher
potential for compatibility than a conventional design, through the use of
emulators.  A tightly-coupled emulator could provide binary compatibility,
possibly with improved performance, yet allow radical improvements in
performance by re-compiling the source code into RISC instructions.


-- 
:::::: Artificial   Intelligence   Machines   ---   Smalltalk   Project ::::::
:::::: Jan Steinman		Box 1000, MS 60-405	(w)503/685-2956 ::::::
:::::: tektronix!tekecs!jans	Wilsonville, OR 97070	(h)503/657-7703 ::::::