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Re: Avatar

In article <1993Feb10.163628.9982@exu.ericsson.se> exuhag@exu.ericsson.se
writes:
>Soenke Behrens writes:
>>
>>b) I am concerned about the use of a 65SC816 as the "main" processor (apart
>>   from secondary processors).
>
>IMO the 65816 is a very capable processor.  Consider some of the amazing
>programs which have been written the the plain vanilla Apple II.  Then,
>not slipping into the "but you just GOTTA have a 100 MHz clock-doubled
>chip to do ANYTHING!" state of mind, think of what you could do with a
>10 MHz 65816.  Then think of what you could do with a TI graphics
>processor and other goodies added on.

Hold on a second.  "IMO the 65816 is a very capable processor".  Yes,
it is, if you want to write everything in assembly language.

Unfortunately, this isn't the case any more.  And, for several reasons,
the '816 just isn't a good CPU for HLL compilers.  The limitations of the
stack frame that Soenke mentioned are quite real, and can be very crippling.
The computer of today _HAS_ to have a good C compiler, that can generate
good code.  That's really tough on an '816.

>A secondary benefit is that you avoid both Intel and Motorola and
>all the silliness that goes with them; the Avatar will not immediately
>be PC-ized or Mac-ized and subsumed by those worlds.  It's also worth
>noting that with the success of the Super Nintendo, there are a lot
>of good 65816 programmers out there.

This is sheer nonsense.  Maybe we can get some of the SNES programmers
to write Pagemaker, unix applications, etc in assembly.  Right.

BTW, those "really good 65816 programmers" you note are mostly writing
Super NES code now.  Do you really think that they'd want to change?

>James Hague   
>exuhag@exu.ericsson.se
-- 
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|          James Brookes            | Inet: bb252@cleveland.freenet.edu |
|``What, me worry?'' - A. E. Neuman |   jamesb@cscihp.ecst.csuchico.edu |
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