Re: SUN vs Lisp machine hardware differences?

[Jim Evans <jevans@scrc-vallecito.arpa>]

    Posted-Date: Wed, 12 Aug 87 09:59:11 PDT
    From: James Larus <larus%paris.Berkeley.EDU@berkeley.edu>
    To: Scott McKay <SWM@sapsucker.scrc.symbolics.com>, DLW@alderaan.scrc.symbolics.com
    cc: CJL@reagan.ai.mit.edu, spar!malcolm@decwrl.dec.com, SLUG@r20.utexas.edu
    Subject: Re: SUN vs Lisp machine hardware differences? 
    Date: Wed, 12 Aug 87 12:59 EDT
    Resent-Date: Wed, 12 Aug 87 14:42 EDT
    Resent-From: CMP.SLUG@R20.UTEXAS.EDU
    Resent-To: SLUG: ;


    Everyone seems tired of the RISC/CISC debate, so let me change the
    subject a bit.  Several letters have alluded to your new chip.  I have
    not seen anything about it. 1 Could somebody in Symbolics describe the
    chip and the system that will be built about it?  In particular, I'm
    sure that most people would like to know the differences between it
    and the 3600 family and the performance that you expect from it.

    /Jim


0Information on the I-Machine architecture, the Ivory chip and the
associated tools that were used to develop it are to appear in the
proceedings of ICCD '87.  A synopsis of each paper follows.  Copies of
these papers will be available from Symbolics sales representatives or
from Symbolics sales offices in about a week.

(1) The Symbolics I-Machine Architecture: A Symbolic Processor
Architecture for VLSI Implementation (Edwards, Efland and Weste)
describes features of the I-Machine family architecture.

(2) The Symbolics Ivory Processor: A 40 Bit Tagged Architecture Lisp
Microprocessor (Baker, Chan, Cherry, et. al.) describes the VLSI
implementation of the new microprocessor.

(3) The Symbolics Ivory Design and Verification Strategy (Weste, Terman,
Shrobe, et. al.) describes the design and verification strategies used
to build the Ivory chip.

(4) Virtual Grid Symbolic Layout 1987 (Tan and Weste) describes a
compaction methodology that was used for the design of the Ivory chip.

I hope this information helps answer your questions regarding Symbolics
Ivory chip and its associated architecture.  As for specifics on the
systems that will be built around this chip, Symbolics has made no
formal product announcements regarding these Ivory-based products other
than to say that such products are expected to begin shipment in the
second half of 1988.

Jim Evans
Product Manager
Symbolics