Newsgroups: comp.arch
Path: utzoo!henry
From: henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer)
Subject: Re: Looking for detailed documentation on a workstation
Message-ID: <1989May19.163319.835@utzoo.uucp>
Organization: U of Toronto Zoology
References: <1809@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU>
Date: Fri, 19 May 89 16:33:19 GMT

In article <1809@jhunix.HCF.JHU.EDU> ins_anmy@jhunix (Norman Yarvin) writes:
>At this point, I want to get a detailed description of the internals of some
>workstation-class machine, in order to evaluate how a real-world design
>would be affected by the changes I have in mind.
>
>What sort of documentation is available for such computers?  ...

All too often the answer to such a query is either "ha ha ha ha" or "we are
*not* giving away our crown jewels!".  Never mind that any competent
engineering team could reverse-engineer the thing in a month, and the only
people who are being inconvenienced are the honest customers; that info
is Top Secret.  "Our software runs real fine, so don't bother your little
head about what's inside."

It is reported that Mips, in particular, is a bit more rational about such
things.  I have not verified that personally.
-- 
Subversion, n:  a superset     |     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
of a subset.    --J.J. Horning | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu