Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!mcvax!enea!diab!pf
From: pf@diab.UUCP (Per Fogelstr|m)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: How much is enough? (was Re: More than 32 bits needed where?)
Message-ID: <372@ma.diab.UUCP>
Date: 26 Feb 88 08:10:14 GMT
References: <15781@beta.UUCP> <9629@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP>
Reply-To: pf@ma.UUCP (Per Fogelstr|m)
Organization: Diab Data AB, Taby, Sweden
Lines: 18

In article <9629@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> sunset!oconnor@steinmetz.UUCP writes:
>  ---------------- MICRO-processors wont hit 1000MIPS until
>  the year 2005 or so, if even then. How many microprocessor
>  architectures from 1965 are still around today? :-)
>
Easy one, answer is ZERO. 8-) The new word those days was "integrated curcuit".

This was 23 years ago. Look 15 years forward and who knows if even bits count
then. New ways to represent data are coming up all the time. Many of them
can be used for storing data in more compact and/or different ways.

I think that you must split this problem in two parts. One for them who needs
more bits to represent larger numbers, and one fore the guys who wants to work
with large addressing spaces.

There is an analogy: New algorithms must be developed to increase computing
speed, not only the raw processor power. New ways to represent data are 
requiered to decrease the amount of storage needed to represent it.