Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hpfcso!dgr
From: dgr@hpfcso.HP.COM (Dave Roberts)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Integer Multiply/Divide on Sparc
Message-ID: <8840004@hpfcso.HP.COM>
Date: 26 Dec 89 19:19:32 GMT
References: <84768@linus.UUCP>
Organization: Hewlett-Packard, Fort Collins, CO, USA
Lines: 30


>The SPARC is brain dead [as were its designers] when it comes to doing
>integer arithmetic. It can't multiply and it can't divide.

>-- 
>Bob Silverman
>#include <std.disclaimer>
>Internet: bs@linus.mitre.org; UUCP: {decvax,philabs}!linus!bs
>Mitre Corporation, Bedford, MA 01730
>----------


Geeze Bob,
	The thing is a SPARC.  It's a RISC machine.  Integer mult and
divide are the first things to go when you design a RISC.  There should
be some funky instructions to help you out, like "shift and add" for
multiplication.  Trust me, you're better off (in speed, that is) for
not having those functions, and I'll be that you can write a routine
that can do them just about as fast as they could internally.
I don't really know much about SPARCs but I know that the designers
at Sun weren't "brain dead".

Note that I am in no way endorsing the purchase of any SPARC system.
Quite the contrary, of course, competition being what it is. :-)


Dave Roberts
Hewlett-Packard Co.
dgr@hpfcla.hp.com
dgr%hpfcla@hplabs.hp.com