1. How many different assembler instructions are available on a G4 CPU?
2. An instruction that goes into the CPU is upto 32 bits wide, but, because there's less than (I'm gonna guess) 256 instructions, does that mean that, in a file, it's 1 byte per instruction, storage wise?
3. When an instruction is pulled into ram, does it use up 4 bytes of ram? i.e. it gets converted to a 4 byte (long word), providing it was 1 byte on disk?
4. If 3 is true, when xp goes to 64 bits (and/or RISC), it will be all over for their (not)os? Considering xp uses 1.3+ Gigs of HD space already.
AmigaOne! Programming is work AND entertainment.
Well from a hardware point of view (Op codes, not assembler mnemonics) then the data and instructions are 32bits long in total (In a 32-bit core). Possibly a 16bit instruction with 16bits of data. The current range of PPC's are still 32 bit (although the data bus is 64bits wide) the instruction itself is MAX of 32-bits... that's not to say the data relating to that instruction must fit into the remaining 32-bits, it could be in the next word etc.
I got shot down in flames a month or two ago for saying that the current range of PPC (not PPC970 etc) are 32 bit... I say again - 32bit cores with addtional capacity for data. (Hence why the data bus is 64-bits wide)
Neil Thomas, AKA MiniBobf
