[Info-vax] Microsoft: Alpha architecture responsible for poor Windows file compression

Simon Clubley clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Wed Nov 2 09:58:38 EDT 2016


According to:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/11/02/ghost_of_dec_alpha_sees_microsoft_dumb_down_windows_file_compression/

Microsoft are saying that limits in the Alpha architecture are responsible
for poor Windows file compression in today's world. Sample quote:

|Chen says one of his "now-retired colleagues worked on real-time compression,
|and he told me that the Alpha AXP processor was very weak on bit-twiddling
|instructions. For the algorithm that was ultimately chosen, the smallest unit
|of encoding in the compressed stream was the nibble; anything smaller would
|slow things down by too much. This severely hampers your ability to get good
|compression ratios."

Do any Alpha architecture experts here know if this is the full story ?

Simon.

-- 
Simon Clubley, clubley at remove_me.eisner.decus.org-Earth.UFP
Microsoft: Bringing you 1980s technology to a 21st century world



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