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Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!hhb!anwar!bob
From: bob@anwar.UUCP (Bob Erickson)
Newsgroups: net.arch
Subject: Re: Arbitrary byte alignment
Message-ID: <122@anwar.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Oct-84 11:41:39 EDT
Article-I.D.: anwar.122
Posted: Wed Oct 10 11:41:39 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Oct-84 05:21:35 EDT
Organization: HHB-Softron, Mahwah, NJ
Lines: 26


A note about the Pyramid 90x.  After further discussion between
software and hardware engineers, it was determined that it wouldn't be
very difficult or expensive (speedwise) to implement almost arbitrary
byte alignment (e.g. longwords accessed on any even address) in the
microcode.  Pyramid will be offering this microcode change to its'
customers real soon now.

I think this implies that arbitrary byte alignment does not necessarily
imply a performance penalty in the global throughput of a machine.

I know compilers can be taught to do alignment, but many programmers
using C's simple address arithmetic mechanisms, can't be. :-)

-- 


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