Groups > alt.folklore.computers > #161801

Re: Which Books Can You Recommend For Learning Computer Programming?

From	Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx>
Newsgroups	alt.folklore.computers
Subject	Re: Which Books Can You Recommend For Learning Computer Programming?
Date	2016-04-01 23:11 +0000
Message-ID	<dm8dh2FflomU35@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	<KZvLy.67$Vf2.30@fx24.iad> <1818716705.481237126.975555.peter_flass-yahoo.com@news.eternal-september.org>

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On Fri, 01 Apr 2016 17:05:02 -0400, Peter Flass wrote:

> Scott Lurndal <scott@slp53.sl.home> wrote:
>> Bob Eager <news0006@eager.cx> writes:
>> 
>> 
>>> It may LOOK like it - but nothing like. The PDP-11 is moderately
>>> orthogonal - the x86 isn't. PDP-11 instructions mostly work with any
>>> source and destination - the x86 ones don't.
>> 
>> The x86 instructions mostly work with any source and destination as
>> well.
>> This isn't 1980 anymore.
>> 
>> 
>>> 
>>>> And here's arm aarch64:
>>>> 
>>>> 0000000000401570 <register_tm_clones>:
>>>> 401570:       b0000081        adrp    x1, 412000
>>>> <__frame_dummy_init_array_entry>
>>>> 401574:       b0000080        adrp    x0, 412000
>>>> <__frame_dummy_init_array_entry>
>>>> 401578:       910ae021        add     x1, x1, #0x2b8 40157c: 910ae000
>>>>        add     x0, x0, #0x2b8 401580:       58000187 ldr     x7,
>>>> 4015b0 <register_tm_clones+0x40> 401584:       cb000021 sub     x1,
>>>> x1, x0 401588:       9343fc21        asr     x1, x1,
>>>> #3 40158c:       8b41fc21        add     x1, x1, x1, lsr #63 401590:
>>>> 9341fc21        asr     x1, x1, #1 401594:       eb1f003f cmp     x1,
>>>> xzr 401598:       fa5f10e4        ccmp    x7, xzr, #0x4,
>>>> ne 40159c:       54000060        b.eq    4015a8
>>>> <register_tm_clones+0x38>
>>>> 4015a0:       d61f00e0        br      x7 4015a4:       d503201f nop
>>>> 4015a8:       d65f03c0        ret 4015ac:       d503201f nop
>>>> 
>>>> To me, the x86 is more readable.  YMMV.
>>> 
>>> It certainly does. And I have used a dozen different assembly
>>> languages,
>>> at an absolute minimum.
>> 
>> Too bad your posting client mangles the quoted article.
>> 
>> I've programmed (for pay) in assembler on the PDP-8, PDP-11,
>> Vax-11/780,
>> Itel AS-6 (running MVS), Burroughs medium systems (as an operating
>> system engineer), 6502, 68K, 88100, MIPS, Intel (386 to current Xeons)
>> and ARM64 in the last 40 years.
>> 
>> They all have their quirks.  I was never fond of the 370 instruction
>> set myself.  I did quite like the VAX instruction set, I found MOVC5
>> particularly useful having some characteristics in common with the
>> Burroughs data movement instructions.
>> 
>> 
> I liked the VAX too, but it always seemed to me that a large portion of
> the instruction set would be unused by the average programmer.

I agree. Even compiler writers found it hard (I wrote a VAX compiler)!



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