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From: hes@ecsvax.UUCP (Henry Schaffer)
Newsgroups: net.arch,net.micro.pc
Subject: "Origins of an Architecture: 801/RISC"
Message-ID: <1194@ecsvax.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 14-Feb-86 11:50:11 EST
Article-I.D.: ecsvax.1194
Posted: Fri Feb 14 11:50:11 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 16-Feb-86 04:58:58 EST
Distribution: net
Organization: NC State Univ.
Lines: 23
Xref: watmath net.arch:2526 net.micro.pc:6986

IBM's Research Highlights publication (No. 1, 1986) has the
above title.  The footnote on "RISC" says "RISC is a term
coined outside IBM.  While the IBM scientists who originated
the technology never attributed its efficiency solely or
principally to reducing the number of instructions, the term--
which suggests an underlying simplicity-- is widely used in
the computer industry."

This 4-page issue is devoted to the concepts and their history.
The original idea is credited to Dr. John Cocke, IBM Fellow in
1975.  (He was born in NC and joined IBM from Duke Univ., so I
guess we in the Research Triangle area should be proud of him!)

IBM gets a lot of static for using developments of others rather
than innovating.  (I think that there is some truth to this.)
However this may be, is the RISC architecture an example of IBM
leading the way in an architectural innovation?

You can probably get a copy from Research Commhnications Dept.
IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, P.O. Box 218, Yorktown Heights
NY  10598 (914)945-3036.

--henry schaffer