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From: beres@cadnetix.COM (Tim Beres)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.intel,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Raiders of the lost opcodes of the 80386
Message-ID: <3361@cadnetix.COM>
Date: 19 Jul 88 15:00:34 GMT
References: <4071@korppi.tut.fi> <4814@killer.UUCP> <7435@cup.portal.com>
Sender: news@cadnetix.COM
Reply-To: beres@cadnetix.COM (Tim Beres)
Organization: Cadnetix Corp.,  Boulder, CO
Lines: 40

In article <7435@cup.portal.com> mslater@cup.portal.com writes:
>
>Intel has never gone out of their way to let people know that these
>instructions were dropped.  Supposedly, everyone that purchased 386
>chips got the errata sheet, and Intel notified the complier writers.
>And no one programs in assembly language any more, right?
>
>Michael Slater     Editor and Publisher    Microprocessor Report
>550 California Ave., Suite 320, Palo Alto, CA 94306  415/494-2677
>mslater@cup.portal.com     sun!portal!cup.portal.com!mslater

Oh contraire.  Awhile back I was a H/A ATS (same thing as an Intel FAE)
and attended many a training session locally and in Santa Clara.  The '386
was extensively presented; we were told about the missing opcodes, and to
pass along this to developers.  Now, for this scenario to work, a couple 
things could happen:

	1.  A developer would ask Intel (or H/A) about the opcodes.  They
	    would be told about them.  
	2.  We would volunteer the info to anyone we knew was doing '386
	    low-level development work.
	3.  If you were in the data base, you would get lit updates.

So, the info was out there, if you asked.  From my experience Intel was 
superb at getting FAE's and other support resources to engineers; they also
had lots of data, though some of it was dated/incorrect/not current.
What engineers had to realize, was that they had to call up Intel (or H/A or
Pioneer or Arrow) and bug them about "xxxx".  That was our job, to get info
to people -- we were well trained and well paid to pass along the bits and
pieces.  This info was free, too  (if you do development work and pay for
data books, etc., boy are you dumb).  The attitude that technical info
will just come dropping into your lap really bugs me.  Sometimes you have
to make a phone call or check references, sometimes it does drop into your
lap; in any event, lets stamp out this strain of RTFM-itis.

			Tim
..words to memorize  words hypnotize  words make my mouth exercise  words all
fail the magic prize... -- VF
Tim Beres   Cadnetix, 5775 Flatirons Pkwy, Boulder, CO 80301  
            beres@cadnetix.com  {uunet,boulder,nbires}!cadnetix!beres