Article View: comp.arch
Article #2286Re: DISC (Directed Instruction Set Computers)
From: Steve Warren
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1989 15:21
Date: Tue, 19 Sep 1989 15:21
17 lines
1419 bytes
1419 bytes
In article <22241@cup.portal.com> mmm@cup.portal.com (Mark Robert Thorson) writes:
>Is there a possibility that WCS (writable control store) will make a
>comeback? Then your compiler could produce BOTH the object code
>and an instruction set tailored to the application.
CONVEX machines have a writable control store, but you wouldn't want
to change it once the OS comes up. I don't think UNIX could cope :-).
Our WCS is scanned in serially by the Service Processor at boot time.
Sometimes we make minor modifications to the ucode for diagnostic
purposes. I guess you could have reserved instructions that would
be swapped out with context, but that sure would add a lot to the
overhead.
--Steve
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
{uunet,sun}!convex!swarren; swarren@convex.COM
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<1806@convex.UUCP>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!convex!eugene!swarrenReferences:
<1529@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu> <27685@winchester.mips.COM> <22241@cup.portal.com>Show Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!gem.mps.ohio-state.edu!ginosko!uunet!convex!eugene!swarren From: swarren@eugene.uucp (Steve Warren) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: DISC (Directed Instruction Set Computers) Message-ID: <1806@convex.UUCP> Date: 19 Sep 89 15:21:47 GMT References: <1529@atanasoff.cs.iastate.edu> <27685@winchester.mips.COM> <22241@cup.portal.com> Sender: news@convex.UUCP Reply-To: swarren@eugene.UUCP (Steve Warren) Distribution: na Organization: Convex Computer Corporation, Richardson, Tx. Lines: 17