From: kilgallen@eisner.decus.org (Larry Kilgallen)
Subject: Re: Compiler for Z80/6510
Date: 1999/12/02
Date: 1999-12-02T00:00:00+00:00 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <1999Dec2.080628.1@eisner> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 3845D4B4.98354460@mitre.org
In article <3845D4B4.98354460@mitre.org>, "Robert I. Eachus" <eachus@mitre.org> writes:
> Now this is a pretty special case, but in general modern processors
> have hundreds of special purpose operations which are not available from
> the assembler. This is because the Assembler limits itself to the set
> of instructions specified for all the implementations of the
> architecture. For example, on Sun SPARCs, at first it was the case that
> you could use (integer) multiply and divide operations which weren't
> available in compiler generated code, but could be generated by the
> assembler. Then it was possible to provide (in Ada terms) code inserts
> that generated these instructions. Then the compilers started
> generating them. Next the OS provided routines which trapped the
> instructions if not provided by the particular chip you were running on,
> etc. But about when the version 8 SPARC reference came out, things
> proceded in exactly the reverse order with some of the new instructions:
> the assembler was the last to support them. (I could go into details,
> but there were serious timing issues for these instructions, and it ws
> thought that they would only be used in compiler run-times for special
> purposes.) So for a while, I had some Ada code for the SPARC that ran
> faster than the tightest assembler I could write.
>
> Currently we are in this regime again. The Intel Pentium II & III
> and the Athelon processor have different graphics support enhancements.
> We could argue which is better, but using special libraries and
> run-times, in some cases special to both the chip AND the graphics card,
> you can generate code which is significantly faster than any Pentium
> assembly code.
Let me give a counter-example. Macro-64 on Alpha VMS certainly does
not contain anything specific to versions of the architecture not yet
designed :-), but it does allow you to specify your own instruction
definitions, so any possible bit combination for an instruction is
attainable.
Larry Kilgallen
next prev parent reply other threads:[~1999-12-02 0:00 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 50+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
1999-11-24 0:00 Compiler for Z80/6510 Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-11-24 0:00 ` Frank Klemm
1999-11-24 0:00 ` Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-11-24 0:00 ` Tucker Taft
1999-11-24 0:00 ` Wil
1999-11-25 0:00 ` Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-11-25 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-11-25 0:00 ` Peter Milliken
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Tarjei Jensen
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Robert A Duff
1999-11-27 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-01 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-02 0:00 ` Larry Kilgallen [this message]
1999-12-02 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-03 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-03 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-06 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-13 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-13 0:00 ` carr_tom
1999-12-17 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-19 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-21 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-12-23 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-12-23 0:00 ` Robert I. Eachus
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Ed Falis
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Robert C. Leif, Ph.D.
1999-11-27 0:00 ` Florian Weimer
1999-11-28 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
[not found] ` <01bf38cb$be9b2b60$022a6282@dieppe>
1999-11-28 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-11-28 0:00 ` Robert A Duff
1999-11-30 0:00 ` Pascal Obry
1999-12-06 0:00 ` Richard D Riehle
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Vladimir Olensky
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-11-26 0:00 ` Vladimir Olensky
1999-11-27 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
1999-11-28 0:00 ` Vladimir Olensky
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Marin Condic
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Robert C. Leif, Ph.D.
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Mike Silva
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Marin Condic
1999-11-29 0:00 ` John Duncan
1999-11-30 0:00 ` Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Mike Silva
1999-11-30 0:00 ` Tarjei Jensen
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Marin Condic
1999-11-29 0:00 ` Lutz Donnerhacke
1999-12-01 0:00 ` Robert Dewar
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