Re: Compiler for Z80/6510

["Mike Silva" <mjsilva@jps.net>]

Marin Condic wrote in message <3842E10D.5AE759FE@pwfl.com>...
>...
>I would point out that there still may be lots of reasons why the 16 bit
>processors will continue to have a large segment of the market. Not all
>applications need the power or space of a 32 bit architecture, so you are
at
>risk of overdesigning. (The proverbial Brick Outhouse) If there is any cost
>differential at all, this becomes significant over a large production run.
So
>long as a 16 bit controller can be built for even a few cents less than a
32 bit
>controller, there is an advantage to going this route. (True also of the 8
bit
>world vs 16 bit, which is why they are still with us.)

Agreed, there are cases where bottom-line hardware costs are overriding.
However, there are also cases where other factors are more important, such
as availability (the cheapest parts are often the hardest to get), tools
(inc. libraries), expandability, etc.  Just as 8-bit chips are now often
found in "4-bit" applications, I get the feeling that 32-bit chips will fill
a lot of "16-bit" applications.  Not all, of course, but a lot.  Also, for
every large-volume application there are lots of small-volume ones where
spending a bit more for a Brick Outhouse is a smarter way to go than trying
to finely match the requirements to the processor.  For fun I just looked at
the current EDN micro directory issue.  Results: 18 8-bit listings, 11
16-bit listings, 20 32-bit listings, 3 64-bit listings.

Anyway, I don't disagree with anything you've said.  I just sense that
there's a lot more movement in 32-bitters than in 16s, and I think that's
good for Ada since it's much better represented in the former.  Also, the
software written for these 32-bit platforms will naturally be more
complicated, and I'd expect that lots of people who "got by" using C on
smaller projects will find the "old ways" don't cut it on this larger scale.
That more-or-less describes my situation, and that's why I've gravitated to
Ada.
>
>To go in your direction, how about this? Produce a PowerPC based circuit
board
>with a few A/D and/or F/D converters, some discrete lines, maybe a UART and
some
>other stuff that would make it a good controller and bundle that with an
Ada
>compiler, link/load/diagnostic tools, etc. all plugged into a PC for
>development. Think that could be done for ~ $500? What do you imagine the
>minimum production price of a PowerPC based SBC could be in some reasonable
>volume?


Don't really know about bundled prices (so much would depend on the cost of
the software).  I -think- I've seen 386 controllers for under $200 and 486
controllers for under $300, in low volumes, and that's usually with a lot of
PC-compatible hardware onboard that many people wouldn't need.

Mike