Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!apple!vsi1!wyse!mips!rogerk From: rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: In defense of the VAX Message-ID: <13717@admin.mips.COM> Date: 22 Feb 89 20:51:55 GMT References: <4592@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> <638@m3.mfci.UUCP> <11037@tekecs.TEK.COM> <653@m3.mfci.UUCP> <1226@husc6.harvard.edu> <2324@scolex.sco.COM> Reply-To: rogerk@mips.COM (Roger B.A. Klorese) Organization: MIPS Computer Systems, Sunnyvale, CA Lines: 14 In article <2324@scolex.sco.COM> seanf@scolex.UUCP (Sean Fagan) writes: >However, not providing a multiply instruction is *real* stupid (IMHO), >because "real world" applications tend to do multiplies. Not providing a way for multiplications to be done efficiently is stupid. Not providing a multiply instruction is not necessarily stupid. The MIPS R-Series architecture provides one, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the chips themselves need to (although they do). The ISA is implemented in the assembler, not necessarily in the silicon. -- Roger B.A. Klorese MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. {ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!rogerk 928 E. Arques Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94086 rogerk@servitude.mips.COM (rogerk%mips.COM@ames.arc.nasa.gov) +1 408 991-7802 "I majored in nursing, but I had to drop it. I ran out of milk." - Judy Tenuta