The Importance of Terminology's Quality

[sln at netherlands.com]

On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 23:23:57 +0000 (UTC), Martin Gregorie <martin at see.sig.for.address.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 22 Aug 2008 22:56:09 +0000, sln wrote:
>
>> On Thu, 21 Aug 2008 09:11:48 -0500, rpw3 at rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) wrote:
>> 
>>>sln at netherlands.com> wrote:
>>>*IS* raw machine code, *NOT* assembler!!
>> [snip]
>> 
>> I don't see the distinction.
>> Just dissasemble it and find out.
>>
>There's a 1:1 relationship between machine code and assembler. 
>Unless its a macro-assembler, of course!
> 
>> 
>> Each op is a routine in microcode.
>> That is machine code. Those op routines use machine cycles.
>>
>Not necessarily. An awful lot of CPU cycles were used before microcode 
>was introduced. Mainframes and minis designed before about 1970 didn't 
>use or need it and I'm pretty sure that there was no microcode in the 
>original 8/16 bit microprocessors either (6800, 6809, 6502, 8080, 8086, 
>Z80 and friends).
>
>The number of clock cycles per instruction isn't a guide either. The only 
>processors I know that got close to 1 cycle/instruction were all RISC, 
>all used large lumps of microcode and were heavily pipelined.
>
>By contrast the ICL 1900 series (3rd generation mainframe, no microcode, 
>no pipeline, 24 bit word) averaged 3 clock cycles per instruction. 
>Motorola 6800 and 6809 (no microcode or pipelines either, 1 byte fetch) 
>average 4 - 5 cycles/instruction.

Surely you have caved to intelligence. And there is nothing beyond op.
What has the friggin world come to!!!


sln