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=1.2 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,FROM_WORDY, INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: 115aec,d275ffeffdf83655 X-Google-Attributes: gid115aec,public From: "Nick Roberts" Subject: Instruction Set Semantics Date: 1999/01/27 Message-ID: <78o59b$31a$1@plug.news.pipex.net>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 437698392 References: <369C1F31.AE5AF7EF@concentric.net> <369DDDC3.FDE09999@sea.ericsson.se> <369e309a.32671759@news.demon.co.uk> <77ledn$eu7$1@remarQ.com> <77pnqc$cgi$1@newnews.global.net.uk> <8p64spq5lo5.fsf@Eng.Sun.COM> <782r25$k18$1@nnrp1.dejanews.com> <36AEDCEE.23964EF7@enea.se> X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Organization: UUNET WorldCom server (post doesn't reflect views of UUNET WorldCom) Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,comp.realtime Date: 1999-01-27T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: I think we're getting into an argument about the finer points of terminology here. If you take the word 'semantics' to mean the 'meaning' of something, i.e. 'what it does', then you _could_ include the time it takes for an instruction to execute, as well as what it actually does, to be a part of its semantics. I believe, purely by convention, that the word 'semantics' in this kind of context is usually intended to mean "what the instruction does, but not how fast it does it". But, like most computer terminology, it's a question of loose convention, and not set in stone anywhere. Clearly, in his post, Robert Dewar meant "what the instruction does, and how fast it does it" when he used the word 'semantics'. And as for the little differences in semantics (what the instruction does, but not how fast it does it) between different versions of superscalar processors: the 'little differences' go on and on ;-) ------------------------------------------- Nick Roberts ------------------------------------------- Ola Liljedahl wrote in message <36AEDCEE.23964EF7@enea.se>... |robert_dewar@my-dejanews.com wrote: [...] |> I am afraid that things have changed. At this stage the |> full execution semantics of a modern chip with extensive | ^^^^^^^^^ |Wrong. The semantics of the assembly level instructions is [...]