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From: gooley@uicsl.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Re: What's RISC all about ... REALLY?
Message-ID: <2300003@uicsl>
Date: Sat, 5-Jul-86 10:14:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uicsl.2300003
Posted: Sat Jul  5 10:14:00 1986
Date-Received: Mon, 7-Jul-86 01:17:00 EDT
References: <475@elmgate.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:elmgate.UUCP:475:uicsl:2300003:000:506
Nf-From: uicsl.UUCP!gooley    Jul  5 09:14:00 1986


My guess is that the polynomial-evaluation instructions have some hardware
support on the bigger VAXen (my unreliable memory tells me that the VAX
FPA provides some in addition to doing the FP arithmetic), and so might be
faster than the unrolled-loop user-programmed versions.  On the 750, such
instructions are done in microcode -- but that doesn't explain why they are
so very slow.  DEC would have to provide them for compatibility with machines
on which they make more sense...

!uiucdcs!uicsl!gooley