Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!bbn!rochester!rutgers!uwvax!dogie!terranova@vms.macc.wisc.edu
From: terranova@vms.macc.wisc.edu (John Terranova)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: 65816 v. 680x0
Message-ID: <871@dogie.edu>
Date: 14 Nov 88 11:15:09 GMT
Sender: news@dogie.edu
Distribution: na
Organization: University of Wisconsin Academic Computing Center
Lines: 32

In article <8878@smoke.BRL.MIL>, gwyn@smoke.BRL.MIL (Doug Gwyn ) writes...

>The various strange addressing quirks once, for example, limited
>APW C arrays to 64Kb in early releases (now arrays are permitted
>to exceed 64Kb, at the expense of slower code generated to access
>them).  The typical continual shuffling of the data bank register
>is a far cry from the 68000's simple addressing scheme.  And the
>crucial role played by the 256-byte direct page in making many
>addressing modes work leads to a turf fight that requires a lot
>of unnecessary work to avoid.
> 
You are complaining about a 64K limit on arrays and, for that matter,
single code segments?!?  You should consider yourself fortunate.  On a
Macintosh (some claim a superior machine to the GS) you are restricted
to 32K arrays, 32K code segments and 32K of global data.  Sounds to me
like the 65816 compares fairly favorably (in this respect, atleast) to
the 68000.

BTW:  I have heard that the 65816 has a very efficient instruction set
(highly piplined, perhaps?) and would run rings around a 68000 running
at the same clock speed.  Can anyone verify or deny this for me?  Just
wondering.

-------------------------+--------------------+----------------------------
John C. Terranova         \ What the Hell do  |  I'm not a Computer
  CS, BS to be             \ I know?  I come  |  Science undergraduate,
terranova@vms.macc.wisc.edu \ from Waunakee!  |  but I play one at school.
-----------------------------+----------------+----------------------------
It's awful hard to try to make love long-distance.
        --Billy Joel, "Just a Fantasy"

Robert Heibel: 08/30/41 - 09/21/88; R.I.P., you deserve it.