On 4/22/24 12:31, ben via cctalk wrote: > > > Classic cpu designs like the PDP-1, might be better called RISC. > Back then you matched the cpu word length to data you were using. > 40 bits made a lot of sense for real computing, even if you > had no RAM memory at the time, just drum.
I'd call the CDC 6600 a classic RISC design, at least as far as the CPU went. Classes were given to programming staff on timing code precisely; I spent many happy hours trying to squeeze the last few cycles out of a loop (where the biggest bang for the buck was possible). I think bitsavers (I haven't looked) has a document or two on how to time code for that thing. --Chuck
