Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!helios.ee.lbl.gov!pasteur!ucbvax!unisoft!paul From: paul@unisoft.UUCP (n) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: VM needed for rapid startup Keywords: paging virtual-memory speed Message-ID: <963@unisoft.UUCP> Date: 27 May 88 17:30:16 GMT References: <463@cvaxa.sussex.ac.uk> <1016@cresswell.quintus.UUCP> <508@cmx.npac.syr.edu> Reply-To: paul@unisoft.UUCP (Paul Campbell) Lines: 30 In article <508@cmx.npac.syr.edu> billo@cmx.npac.syr.edu (Bill O'Farrell) writes: >In article <1016@cresswell.quintus.UUCP> ok@quintus.UUCP (Richard A. O'Keefe) writes: >>In article <463@cvaxa.sussex.ac.uk>, aarons@cvaxa.sussex.ac.uk (Aaron Sloman) writes: >>The B6700 could and did page large data arrays, but it couldn't page > >The B6700, at least the one that I knew and loved :-), did not do >"paging" of either data or code. Yes, procedures were in their own Actually it did, the compiler made arrays bigger that 1023 words into things with doubly indirect pointers, the descriptor had a bit set (I think it was called 'segmented') that ment that when it was accessed it split the array into 256 word chunks, and referenced and array of normal descriptors, which in turn referenced the real memory (some of which could be paged). This of course was slower and (I think) the string opcodes didn't work on them, hence the Algol construct 'long array' which was how you created a non segmented array .... I too remember the 6700 with fond memories .... and for the Unix people out there - it had 'streams', of course called by a different name and with many of the details different but one could create an MCS with all the same functionality (and we did ...) Paul -- Paul Campbell, UniSoft Corp. 6121 Hollis, Emeryville, Ca E-mail: ..!{ucbvax,hoptoad}!unisoft!paul Nothing here represents the opinions of UniSoft or its employees (except me) "Nuclear war doesn't prove who's Right, just who's Left" (ABC news 10/13/87)