🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <21@lzaz.ATT.COM> bds@lzaz.ATT.COM (BRUCE SZABLAK) writes:
>One major point about RISC that I haven't seen mentioned, is that a simpler
>instruction set implies that a LOT less silicon is devoted to micro-code.
>This silicon can be used for other things such as a large number of
>registers or, in the Transputers case, support of high speed serial
>communication lines. One reason RISC's execute faster is that access to
>on chip memory (e.g. registers) is faster than accessing off chip registers.
>Also, in some RISCs the instruction set is implemented using
>logic as opposed to micro-code which is usually faster too.

I'd just like to point out that almost *none* of this applies to the
Transputer.  It's got *lots* of microcode (to do multiprocessing and message
passing, etc.), and no registers in the VAX/68000/most RISC chips sense.

Some people (myself included) would argue that if the chip is microcoded,
it isn't RISC.  I certainly don't think the Transputer is a RISC chip.
It's stripped down in some ways, but those ways aren't the ones "RISC" chips.
use.  Based on the power of what's built into microcode, it's a CISC.
--
	-Colin Plumb (watmath!ccplumb)

Zippy says:
Catsup and Mustard all over the place!  It's the Human Hamburger!