From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,3cd3b8571c28b75f X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2003-08-30 19:35:23 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!logbridge.uoregon.edu!newsfeed.cwix.com!newsfeed.mathworks.com!wn13feed!worldnet.att.net!204.127.198.203!attbi_feed3!attbi.com!sccrnsc04.POSTED!not-for-mail Message-ID: <3F515ED6.3050802@attbi.com> From: "Robert I. Eachus" User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.0.2) Gecko/20021120 Netscape/7.01 X-Accept-Language: en-us, en MIME-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: A Customer's Request For Open Source Software References: <3F44BC65.4020203@noplace.com><20030822005323.2ff66948.david@realityrift.com> <3F4EA616.30607@attbi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; format=flowed Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit NNTP-Posting-Host: 24.34.139.183 X-Complaints-To: abuse@comcast.net X-Trace: sccrnsc04 1062297308 24.34.139.183 (Sun, 31 Aug 2003 02:35:08 GMT) NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 02:35:08 GMT Organization: Comcast Online Date: Sun, 31 Aug 2003 02:35:08 GMT Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:41996 Date: 2003-08-31T02:35:08+00:00 List-Id: Dennis Lee Bieber wrote: > And yes, there is an Ada (Ada 80 level, I believe) linkage in the way > the processor handled varying sized memory blocks with protected access > and tasking. I believe the native developement environment was supposed > to be Ada. I actually interviewed at Intel to work in the compiler group for the iapx432. I guess I was fortunate in one sense in that the day I was interviewing Intel management made a killing decision about the chip. The iapx432 implemented a capability architecture. The software group noticed that standard way of modifying a capability node didn't work with the root node. The only way to alter it was to create a new root table, then do a hardware reset. The hardware people argued that since there was a workaround for this errata it didn't need to be fixed for the first shipping revision. When I was at lunch with the compiler group, they were planning what to do next, because there was no future for the iapx432. (Of course, what I should have done was to hand out some extra resumes. People at lunch that day were involved in founding Rational and Verdix.) How bad was that decision? Pretty bad. It meant that in practice any memory reference went through an extra level of indirection. That did a pretty good job of killing performance. There was also a joint venture by Siemens and Intel called Biin to create and sell (Ada) systems based on the iapx432 architecture. When the 432 was bombing based on initial performance tests, Intel pulled the rug out from under Biin. AFAIK, a company in the UK, High Integrity Systems was the only company to ever actually sell iapx432 based products. -- Robert I. Eachus "As far as I'm concerned, war always means failure." -- Jacques Chirac, President of France "As far as France is concerned, you're right." -- Rush Limbaugh