Xref: utzoo comp.misc:2440 comp.arch:4894
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cbmvax!jesup
From: jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Newsgroups: comp.misc,comp.arch
Subject: Re: Japanese 32-bit micro can be a 68020 or 80386
Message-ID: <3824@cbmvax.UUCP>
Date: 19 May 88 15:33:23 GMT
References: <2006@sugar.UUCP> <53583@sun.uucp> <2206@winchester.mips.COM>
Reply-To: jesup@cbmvax.UUCP (Randell Jesup)
Organization: Commodore Technology, West Chester, PA
Lines: 17

In article <2206@winchester.mips.COM> mash@winchester.UUCP (John Mashey) writes:
>This is not to say that microcode is NECESSARILY bad; in many
>important machines it's been a useful emulation aid, and a useful
>design mechanism.

	I think user microcoding is a mostly dead issue.  If one want's to
run another machines code, it is pretty easy to write an interpreter for
one of the many fast RISCs out there, and get almost as good (or better)
performance than any possible user-microcoded machine.

	In fact, CORE ISA compilers compile to an in some ways CISCy language
(CORE), which is then translated to RPM-40, or any of several other RISC
native languages.  CORE even has things like double-words shifts and rotates,
fpsqrt, etc.

Randell Jesup		{uunet|ihnp4|allegra}!cbmvax!jesup
(-:  The proud, the few, the designers of the GE RPM-40!  :-)