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Path: utzoo!linus!wivax!decvax!decwrl!turtleva!ken
From: ken@turtleva.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Barrel Shifters
Message-ID: <209@turtleva.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 5-Jul-83 00:32:37 EDT
Article-I.D.: turtleva.209
Posted: Tue Jul  5 00:32:37 1983
Date-Received: Thu, 7-Jul-83 01:50:06 EDT
Lines: 12

One of the best features in some of the newer microprocessors (29116,
RISC) is a barrel shifter.  The 29116 allows only rotates, but the RISC
also allows arithmetic and logical shifts in one cycle.  The barrel
shifter makes it much easier to work with packed data (especially with
the 29116's rotate, mask, and merge instruction), and also helps when
converting between data types that have the radix point in different
positions.  Are there any other processors, present or future, that
have this component?  I suspect that it is almost a necessity in 32-bit
micros.

			Ken Turkowski
		{decwrl,amd70}!turtlevax!ken