Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!clyde!att!pacbell!ames!husc6!purdue!decwrl!alverson
From: alverson@decwrl.dec.com (Robert Alverson)
Newsgroups: comp.arch
Subject: Re: Why no RISC clones?
Message-ID: <938@bacchus.dec.com>
Date: 29 Nov 88 17:35:55 GMT
References: <5030006@hpesoc1.HP.COM>
Organization: DEC Western Research Lab
Lines: 13


The obvious reason is that reverse-engineering a RISC would take at
least 1 year.  Without having your own compilers, you have to match
exactly, so you have very few opportunities to improve on the original
design.  So why not just buy their chip instead?

However, the real reason is that people who want to design RISC chips
are arrogant.  They are confident that they can do better--they
wouldn't *want* to repeat the "mistakes" of the original designers.

:)

Bob