Re: Why VAX Was the Ultimate CISC and Not RISC

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> writes:

On Mon, 3 Mar 2025 17:53:35 -0000 (UTC), Thomas Koenig wrote:
>

If your aim is small code size, it is better to compare output compiled
with -Os.

>
Then it becomes an artificial benchmark, trying to minimize code size at
the expense of real-world performance.
>
Remember, VAX was built for real-world use, not for academic benchmarks.

And supposedly the real-world constraints at the time made it
necessary to minimize code size.  In the current discussion we look at
how RV32GC might have fared under this constraint.  So compiling for
small code size could be a way to find that out.  Whether -Os really
achives that is another question (some earlier things I have seen and
discussed here make me doubt that).

- anton
--
'Anyone trying for "industrial quality" ISA should avoid undefined behavior.'
  Mitch Alsup, <c17fcd89-f024-40e7-a594-88a85ac10d20o@googlegroups.com>