Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!rutgers!ucsd!ames!lamaster
From: lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov (Hugh LaMaster)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Standard Un*x H/W architecture (was: MAC 88000)
Keywords: 88000 SPARC Sun Apple Mac Macintosh UNIX
Message-ID: <11783@ames.arc.nasa.gov>
Date: 14 Jul 88 17:23:39 GMT
References: <261@hodge.UUCP> <370STORKEL@RICE> <607@riddle.UUCP>
Reply-To: lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov.UUCP (Hugh LaMaster)
Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
Lines: 25

In article <607@riddle.UUCP> domo@riddle.UUCP (Dominic Dunlop) writes:

>Me, I'd love to see MacSPARC, as it would add more momentum to the
>bandwagon that's promoting SPARC as a standard UN*X hardware architecture.
>If that bandwaggon doesn't roll, we'll have another five years of having to
>accommodate multiple architectures for no good reason, and, boy, am I
>tired of doing that after the last ten years.  But I fear it won't happen.

A standard Un*x h/w architecture is a pipe dream.  There is still far too
much controversy, new technology, and progress being made.  It is also
unnecessary - good portable code runs on most Un*x systems already with
few changes required - one of the reasons for Un*x existing in the first
place.  The ABI standards are supposed to at least standardize Un*x 
within H/W families.  Personally, I would be satisfied if all vendors
agreed on a standard data representation - specifically, IEEE floating
point 32 bit and 64 bit, ASCII, and two's comp. integers, so that DATA
files could be moved between machines, a requirement in our environment.
Standard executables on all machines may have to wait another 20 years
at least.

-- 
  Hugh LaMaster, m/s 233-9,  UUCP ames!lamaster
  NASA Ames Research Center  ARPA lamaster@ames.arc.nasa.gov
  Moffett Field, CA 94035     
  Phone:  (415)694-6117