Old Timers [was: CompuPro CPU-68000] - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

21 Mar 2009

I really need to be able to proof my own writing shhh...

...
 Relatively soon I can only imagine a vey interesting?
future; in addition to a standard CPU  
...
 there will also be a pieces of silicons in you PC your
will be become your application 
whenever load a application. should read

I can only imagine that relatively soon they typical computer will be very different. In
addition to a standard CPU
 there will also be a pieces of silicon in your PC and those pieces of silicon will become
your applications whenever they are loaded.

--- On Sat, 3/21/09, Michael Hart <imsaicollector at yahoo.com> wrote:
From: Michael Hart <imsaicollector at yahoo.com>
Subject: Re: Old Timers [was: CompuPro CPU-68000]
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 8:27 PM

I interviewed for full time position in a company that develop dedicated super computers
with FPGA. or whatever their hight density cousins are called

They reworked the back-end of the GCC compiler generated,what I can only imagine to be
something near verilog code, (they would not elaborate) so than any application written in
C/C++ would directly be use to program FPGA. 

I remember them boasting that these dedicated Silicon Application would be significantly
faster than a bunch of highend CPU running in parallel. Their primay client are DOD.

I can see this killing off embedded device development as we currently know it. All you
need is a FPGA. Write your application in C/C++ then memory, CPU, etc all get generated
automatically. 

Relatively soon I can only imagine a vey interesting? future; in addition to a standard
CPU
 there will also be a pieces of silicons in you PC your will be become your application
whenever load a application.

I have not been following FPGA industry but is there any FPGA infinatable reprogrammable?
?
Michael.

--- On Sat, 3/21/09, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
From: Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com>
Subject: Re: Old Timers [was: CompuPro CPU-68000]
To: "General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts" <cctalk at
classiccmp.org>
Date: Saturday, March 21, 2009, 6:31 PM

On 21 Mar 2009 at 15:50, Jim Battle wrote:

...
  Chuck, that was spoken like a true old-timer, but your
derision is
 laughable.  "Hey, you damn verilog coders, get off my lawn!"

 I'm surprised, as you saw the transition from tubes to transistors to
 ICs, so it shouldn't  shock you that the next evolution of integration
...
  requires just as much engineering and intelligence,
although the
 problems to be solved are somewhat different. 
Oh, I was trying to be humorous about it.  I write Verilog too; it's 
fun in its own way.

I could just have easily grumbled about code bloat or not knowing how 
to write machine code (not assembly, but knowing by heart the opcodes 
and formats of a CPU).   Or not being able to read the color codes on 
6-dot mica capacitors.  Or calling them capacitors instead of 
condensors.  Or not being able to do neat point-to-point wiring using 
tie strips and waxed cable lacing.  Or laying out 14 AWG busbar on 
mahogany breadboards between surface-mount (meaning that they're 
attached with woodscrews) components.

Times change, and all too frequently, we don't.  All we can do is

grumble.

--Chuck