Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!encore!cloud9!cme
From: cme@cloud9.UUCP (Carl Ellison)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.transputer
Subject: Re: What makes Transputer interesting
Summary: my answers
Message-ID: <2392@cloud9.UUCP>
Date: 12 Nov 88 19:51:37 GMT
References: <20000001@ugun21>
Sender: news@husc6.harvard.edu
Organization: Stratus Computer, Inc., Marlboro, MA
Lines: 24

In article <20000001@ugun21>, josef@ugun21.UUCP writes:
> 
> What distinguishes a Transputer from any other processor, especially if
> I take a, let's say 68030 or 32532, add 4 communication channels
> and write software to do processor-processor communication?
> What makes a Transputer so interesting?


Aside from the MUCH lower chip count (& don't forget memory interface chips),
the transputer has a very fast process switch and nearly free inter-process
communications.

Meanwhile, occam is designed for people who dream distributed systems
as opposed to others who dream von Neumann and then have to coerce
their one thread onto multiple processors.  In fact, that's the key
transputer characteristic as well.  It's designed for the way I think.

That's enough for me.
...for you?


--Carl Ellison          ...!harvard!anvil!es!cme    (normal mail address)
                        ...!ulowell!cloud9!cme      (usenet news reading)
(standard disclaimer)