Sujet : Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond
De : mitchalsup (at) *nospam* aol.com (MitchAlsup1)
Groupes : comp.archDate : 01. May 2024, 05:02:07
Autres entêtes
Organisation : Rocksolid Light
Message-ID : <62dff0b888855a31ec10c0597669423f@www.novabbs.org>
References : 1
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Lawrence D'Oliveiro wrote:
Byte addressing was invented by IBM for the System/360, introduced in 1964. At least as I understand it. Up to that time, and indeed for a long time after, machines had a “word length” which was the smallest addressable unit of memory. This could have a range of sizes, e.g.
12 -- DEC PDP-5/8
18 -- DEC PDP-1/4/7/9
36 -- DEC PDP-6/10
60 -- CDC 6000-series
64 -- Cray
CDC had a number of machines with 12-bit times k words. k element {1,2,3,5}
I’m sure there were also 24- and 48-bit machines. Note the popularity of numbers with a range of different integer divisors, including powers of both 2 and 3. The byte-addressable machines chucked away everything other than powers of 2, which was a step backwards in this respect. ;)
I would make the argument that 2^k was a step forward not backwards.
Perhaps another day...
(Interesting that the microprocessor world made byte addressing--and ASCII character encoding--universal right from the beginning. Starting from a clean slate, I guess.)
4004 anyone ?!?
Why was byte addressing invented? I think it was for easy handling of strings and other binary data. But why stop there? I guess the idea of going all the way down to bit-level addressing was considered a bit extreme?
It was certainly a reason Intel's 432 died. {but there were lots}
Certainly if you only had 32 (or, on those early IBMs, 24) address bits, then using 3 of them to address within a byte would have substantially cut down the available size of your address space.
I think the move to 64-bit architectures missed a trick, though: it could have introduced bit-level addressing at the same time, given that we still have plenty of address bits to spare. That would simplify bit-field manipulations, too.
I don't see what is wrong with loading a container with the field and
then extracting or inserting into the container. You loose atomicity
but avoid doubling the number of LD/ST instructions.
One side-effect of byte addressing has been the “endian wars”: the inconsistency, between different machine architectures, of how to order the bytes making up multibyte objects, particularly numbers. Big-endian supposedly had the advantage of making memory dumps easier to read, but little-endian always made more logical sense.
BE means you can read the strings in a core dump
LE means the bytes arrive in the order for on-line arithmetic
LE allows one to make 8-bit wide data paths and still implement a full
width architecture {but then so did 360/30)
Nowadays, all the common CPU architectures are at least available in little-endian form, if not exclusively so. But we still have legacy oddities, like the TCP/IP network stack where integer fields are laid out in big-endian ordering.
I have a BITR instruction that rearranges BE<->LE for these reasons.
Date | Sujet | # | | Auteur |
1 May 24 | Byte Addressability And Beyond | 590 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 431 | | John Levine |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 409 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | John Levine |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Michael S |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 404 | | John Levine |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 382 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | John Levine |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | John Levine |
5 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 367 | | John Savard |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | MitchAlsup1 |
11 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Savard |
4 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 364 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 363 | | John Savard |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
10 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | David Brown |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 360 | | MitchAlsup1 |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 359 | | John Levine |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 357 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
9 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 356 | | John Levine |
10 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 354 | | David Brown |
10 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 353 | | Anton Ertl |
11 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 352 | | David Brown |
11 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 351 | | Anton Ertl |
11 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 158 | | David Brown |
11 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Anton Ertl |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 156 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 155 | | John Levine |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 154 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 153 | | John Levine |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 149 | | John Levine |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | MitchAlsup1 |
28 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 147 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
28 May 24 | Re: encoding conversion, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
28 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 145 | | Thomas Koenig |
29 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 137 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
29 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 136 | | Anton Ertl |
29 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 12 | | Stefan Monnier |
29 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 10 | | Stefan Monnier |
29 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | George Neuner |
4 Jun 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | George Neuner |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 6 | | Anton Ertl |
4 Jun 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
4 Jun 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Stefan Monnier |
7 Jun 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Terje Mathisen |
7 Jun 24 | Re: Character non-equivalence, was Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | John Levine |
9 Jun 24 | Re: Character non-equivalence, was Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 117 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 66 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Stephen Fuld |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 22 | | Anton Ertl |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 21 | | Thomas Koenig |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 8 | | Michael S |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Thomas Koenig |
30 May 24 | Re: IBM architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 5 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: IBM architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | Michael S |
30 May 24 | Re: IBM architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: IBM architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | Thomas Koenig |
30 May 24 | Re: IBM architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Anton Ertl |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Anton Ertl |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
30 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Thomas Koenig |
31 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 5 | | Terje Mathisen |
1 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Thomas Koenig |
1 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Anton Ertl |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | John Levine |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Stefan Monnier |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | MitchAlsup1 |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lynn Wheeler |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Stefan Monnier |
31 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 42 | | John Savard |
31 May 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 41 | | John Levine |
1 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 31 | | John Savard |
1 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 20 | | Thomas Koenig |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 6 | | John Savard |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 5 | | Thomas Koenig |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | John Levine |
3 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | OrangeFish |
3 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Levine |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 13 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
5 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 12 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
5 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
6 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 10 | | George Neuner |
6 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 6 | | John Levine |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Stephen Fuld |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Stephen Fuld |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Terje Mathisen |
6 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lynn Wheeler |
6 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | OrangeFish |
7 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 10 | | John Dallman |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Michael S |
2 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Dallman |
4 Jun 24 | Re: architectural goals, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 7 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 49 | | Stephen Fuld |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Anton Ertl |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 2 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Terje Mathisen |
30 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 7 | | Terje Mathisen |
28 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
12 May 24 | Re: python text, Byte Addressability And Beyond | 14 | | John Levine |
12 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 178 | | Thomas Koenig |
27 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
8 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | Michael S |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 10 | | MitchAlsup1 |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Michael S |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 18 | | Anton Ertl |
1 May 24 | Byte Order (was: Byte Addressability And Beyond) | 4 | | Anton Ertl |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 17 | | Stefan Monnier |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 40 | | MitchAlsup1 |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 15 | | Thomas Koenig |
1 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 3 | | Michael S |
2 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 4 | | Lawrence D'Oliveiro |
3 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 75 | | Anton Ertl |
5 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 20 | | John Savard |
5 May 24 | Re: Byte Addressability And Beyond | 1 | | John Savard |