Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!mailrus!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!NOTE.NSF.GOV!fbaube
From: fbaube@NOTE.NSF.GOV ("F.Baube")
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Re: Memories...
Message-ID: <8812301210.aa25361@note.nsf.gov>
Date: 30 Dec 88 17:10:30 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 12


With the advent of cheap non-volatile RAMs (such as ferro-
electric), isn't there an operating system design issue relating
to whether the dichotomy of core memory versus device-based
storage isn't a bit artificial ? Is there an OS that can run a
program without first loading it, by applying (virtual) program
addresses directly to the device that has been determined to be
byte addressable ?  To rephrase, why should an executable stored
in a RAM disk first have to be copied to main memory in order to
be executed ?

Pardon me if this is an old question.