Article View: comp.sys.mac
Article #29752MAC 88000
From: Bruce Henderson
Date: Sun, 03 Jul 1988 00:47
Date: Sun, 03 Jul 1988 00:47
56 lines
3043 bytes
3043 bytes
The Motorola 88000 is pretty much THE processor of
thefuture. After going to the Motorola seminars and
studyingthe docs on it, I feel that the power offered
here is something that hopefully Apple won't pass up.
I think the optimum design would be to use to 88100s. One
for graphics only and the other for everything else. If both
of the processor modules used 2 88200 CMMU's on the
instruction side of the path (32K) then it would be possible
to store 1 segment in the CMMU at all times. [ more on why
this is importiant later ] Other system memory could be
configured to operate in burst mode. So as the 88100 needed
another segment, it could read it in a "BURST". [for those
of you not so hardware intensive hacks burst mode allows the
CPU to fetch a large amount of data from memory at the
highest possible rate]. The 2 processor sets could be
connected via the 88000 p bus so that the interrupts could
occur 1 cycle. Yes, this idea doesn't have a lot of
refinement, but I have been doing a great deal of thinking
about ways that a 88K Mac could exist, achitecture and such.
And I have decided to appoint myself the independent
Mac88000 evangelist. The power is just too great to pass
up.
Wait, you say. The 88000 isn't software compatible
with the 68000! Ah, this is where the ROM/Toolbox guys at
Apple will have to earn thier pay. The trick is to make the
Mac88000 source code compatable with the rest of the Mac
line. If every last one of the Mac ROM calls can be
implemented on the Mac88000, then the trick is just to allow
MPW to generate 88000 code as well as 68000 code. So to
make an Mac88000 version of a current peice of software
would only requore a recompile with the {+88000} flag set.
This may seem like too much to ask for, but the truth of the
matter is is that if Apple were to go ahead with this now,
while the hardware hacks were making the box, the toolbox
critters could be already creating the code for this things
ROMS, thanks to the Tektronix 88000 MacII board. So
really, the ROM development team doesn't have to wait until
the hardware guys had somthing that works. So I know that
all of you LightSpeed guys are howling out there. I think
that Apple should make sure that the major compiler writers
are seeded as soon as they have anything that works!
Well, there is a lot more to my Ideas, If anyone is
really interested they can contact me, or just wait for the
next time I feel like having an 88000 revival meeting.....
Bruce Henderson
-AsmI
UUCP: hodge.cts.com!pnet06!bruceh
ARPA: hodge!pnet06!bruceh@crash nosc.mil
INET: bruceh@pnet06.cts.com
Technical Details
Message-ID:
<261@hodge.UUCP>Path:
arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!uunet!hodge!pnet06!brucehShow Full Headers
Complete Article Headers
Path: arc1-ca.pugleaf.net!utzoo!attcan!uunet!hodge!pnet06!bruceh From: bruceh@pnet06.cts.com (Bruce Henderson) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: MAC 88000 Message-ID: <261@hodge.UUCP> Date: 3 Jul 88 00:47:28 GMT Sender: rusty@hodge.UUCP Organization: People-Net [pnet06], Orange, CA Lines: 56