14 Sep
2001
14 Sep
'01
8:13 a.m.
On Sep 14, 8:18, Jonathan Engdahl wrote:
An idea that I've been thinking about is the
re-implementation of a
classic
architecture (for me, probably a PDP-11) using
entirely modern hardware.
[...]
Another approach would be to view a Wintel
PC as a microcoded platform, and reimplement the PDP-11 on that hardware.
The microcode would be written in tightly crafted Pentium code. The
machine
would bootstrap itself by loading the microcode from
a special partition
on
the hard drive.
Why not burn it into (EP)ROM? 64K for the opcode jump table fits in a
27512, you maybe want about the same again for the code, and that would fit
in some devices used for BIOS ROMs these days. Or put it on a SIMM or
DIMM.
--
Pete Peter Turnbull
Network Manager
University of York