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From: eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene Miya N.)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: D-machine helped spawn RISC
Message-ID: <2785@ames.arpa>
Date: Wed, 16-Sep-87 11:54:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: ames.2785
Posted: Wed Sep 16 11:54:06 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 19-Sep-87 00:39:20 EDT
References: <347@erc3ba.UUCP> <478@esunix.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ames.arpa
Reply-To: eugene@pioneer.UUCP (Eugene Miya N.)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Lines: 32

In article <478@esunix.UUCP> bpendlet@esunix.UUCP (Bob Pendleton) writes:
>-- In five years I expect that RISC will be passe, that WISC ( wide instruction
>-- set computers ) will be all the rage. WISC will be horizontal microcode
>- It's happened already, though they are not all the rage yet.  They are
>A good reference is "Trace Scheduling: A Technique for Global Microcode
>Compatction" Joseph A. Fisher. IEEE Transactions on Computers, vol. c-30,
>no. 7, July 1981.
>
>By the by, VLIW(TM) and Trace Scheduling(TM) are trademarks of Multiflow
>Computers, Inc. So I chose to use WISC instead.

Added note: the lastest copy of Computer has yet another CISC/RISC
debate (this time including Mike Flynn).  I don't think RISCs will
disappear, they will become passe as a design fad.  I expect more
specialized RISCs, tuned toward specific applications like signal
processing but more general purpose than systolic arrays.  You won't see
debate in this group in favor of CISC because too few software people
read the group, and I don't mean programmers, I mean the kinds of people
pushing tagged architectures, etc.  The group lacks balance.  You will
know when CISC is dead when the 370 & the VAX disappear (I have this
bridge...).  There isn't enough experience with ELI/VLIW/WISC and too
few people (like count on one hand) know how to code these types of
machines to make me confident this is the next fad.  The Trace (machine)
that I saw at least didn't crash (running U*x).

From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers:

--eugene miya
  NASA Ames Research Center
  eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA
  "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?"
  {hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix,menlo70}!ames!aurora!eugene