Re:RISC in 2022
by klelatti on Saturday October 22, 2022 @04:13PM
(#33301768)
I can think of at least two of the RISC pioneers who have cited buggy CISC architectures / microcode as a key motivating reason for adopting RISC.
I actually cited an example of a major CISC design that basically failed because it was so buggy.
The early microprocessors all had hard coded microcode - Intel only had upgradeable microcode with P6 in the mid 1990s.
I didn't say that it was the reason - there were many reasons - but that it was one factor. It was absolutely the case that original RISC designs were simpler to design and that helped them to get traction.
I actually cited an example of a major CISC design that basically failed because it was so buggy.
The early microprocessors all had hard coded microcode - Intel only had upgradeable microcode with P6 in the mid 1990s.
I didn't say that it was the reason - there were many reasons - but that it was one factor. It was absolutely the case that original RISC designs were simpler to design and that helped them to get traction.