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From: henry@utzoo.UUCP (Henry Spencer)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: register windows
Message-ID: <8909@utzoo.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 11-Nov-87 15:49:23 EST
Article-I.D.: utzoo.8909
Posted: Wed Nov 11 15:49:23 1987
Date-Received: Wed, 11-Nov-87 15:49:23 EST
References: <230@usl-pc.UUCP>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
Lines: 14

> ... the MIPS approach, with lots of registers and a very
> smart compiler capable of allocating them to procedures as needed,
> might offer some potential future speed advantages over traditional
> (non-shift-register) register windows or AMD's "stack window"
> approach...

Don't forget that this is, to some extent, a function of what language
you want to use.  The assumption behind lots-of-registers-plus-smart-
compiler is that calling patterns are predictable enough to permit the
compiler to base optimizations on them.  This is not so (or not necessarily
so) for more dynamic languages like Smalltalk.
-- 
Those who do not understand Unix are |  Henry Spencer @ U of Toronto Zoology
condemned to reinvent it, poorly.    | {allegra,ihnp4,decvax,utai}!utzoo!henry