🚀 go-pugleaf

ian@syacus.acus.oz.au (Ian Joyner) writes:
: His main point was that this was a successful attempt at developing a
: machine by considering the software first, not the hardware, but as
: soon as it was shown that this was possible, it was quickly forgotten.
: 
: Well, I won't forget it. It is the purpose of computer hardware to run
: software.

For better or for worse, I think practice has shown
that hardware designers who consider physics first, and software second,
seem to be more reliably successful.

Software is a mushy moving target.

: It is not the purpose of software to be crippled by the
: compromises and limitations of current generation hardware.

I don't think it really has any choice in the matter, actually.

: So hardware design must be dictated by software considerations, not
: vice versa, as is so apparent in languages like C.

I think that few of C's *problems* are a result of being dictated by
hardware considerations.

: -- 
: Ian Joyner  ACUS (Australian Centre for Unisys Software)    ian@syacus.acus.oz
: "Where is the man with all the great directions?...You can't imagine it,
:  how hard it is to grow, Can you imagine the order of the universe?" ABWH
: Disclaimer:Opinions and comments are personal.

--
-Matt Kennel  		mbk@inls1.ucsd.edu
-Institute for Nonlinear Science, University of California, San Diego
-*** AD: Archive for nonlinear dynamics papers & programs: FTP to
-***     lyapunov.ucsd.edu, username "anonymous".