Can we finally
wean the world off x86 [...]
Care to elaborate how the x86 ISA is "holding us
down?" What can you
do with ARM or PPC instructions that you can't with x86?
I didn't write that about weaning the world off x86. But, as someone
who might have written it, I can perhaps answer as if I had.
It's not a question of what can or can't be done. It's a question of
how easy it is and how resources are invested.
The x86 emulation layer (modern x86 CPUs are all RISC cores running an
x86 emulation layer) is draining off resources that could otherwise be
put into improving the hardware. It's impairing performance (as good
as it is, it's still an emulation layer and thus can't perform any
better than the underlying CPU could when used directly). It is
contributing to, albeit not compelling, the walking-wounded support for
legacy x86, such as they way some PCI cards simply don't work if the
host can't/won't run x86 code (machines like Alphas and PPCs not
infrequently contain x86 emulators in their ROM code to cater to cards
whose designers were firmly locked into a "the whole world is an x86
with a peecee BIOS" mindset).
It's also ugly, full of warts mostly driven off compatability with
properties of the past (I almost wrote "mistakes of the past", but I'm
not convinced they _were_ mistakes when they were made; the mistake in
those cases lies in keeping it around past its time).
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