[Info-vax] Dave Cutler, Prism, DEC, Microsoft, etc.

[Paul.Raulerson]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com [mailto:info-vax-bounces at rbnsn.com] On
> Behalf Of Neil Rieck
> Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2009 4:39 PM
> To: info-vax at rbnsn.com
> Subject: Re: [Info-vax] Dave Cutler, Prism, DEC, Microsoft, etc.
> 
> On Nov 25, 7:44 am, JF Mezei <jfmezei.spam... at vaxination.ca> wrote:
> [...snip...]
> 
> >
> > One need not forget that the VAX instruction set is far more complex
> > than the 8086 or IBM 360/370/390 or whatever it is called this week.
> >

Just to set the record straight, the IBM s/390 and above instruction sets
are *far* more complex
than the Vax. The current instruction set (z/Series) has *thousands* of
instructions, and deals equally well 
with 64bit, 31bit, and 24bit instructions. The specialized processors,
fondly known as ZIPs, ZAPs, and IFLs
include instructions that deal with Java and Linux in particularly efficient
ways. And you can put in CELL based
coprocessors to do the really intensive compute specific work. 

IBM and VAX would perhaps be comparable if the Vax had continued to be
developed. 

-Paul