On Wed, 1 Dec 2010 06:53:55 -0800, Gerhard Adam wrote:

>>The same thing happened with 370 to XA, and probably with revolutions in
>previous versions (I wasn't there for them).
>
>Actually it wasn't the same, since the size of the registers/PSW didn't
>change during that entire period.  Therefore, while their usage changed,
>there were no

Were there 7 uncommitted bits in the PSW to save the corresponding
bits in the instruction address, or was additional information
moved to Control Registers which then needed to be stored?

>Issues related to storing such values.  Changing the displacements and
>layout of control blocks is a major departure and seems virtually impossible
>to maintain any kind of downward compatibility once such a change is made.
>
Much (most?) of that work must already have been done.  64-bit registers
must be saved and restored across interrupts, else 64-bit operations
would be impossible for problem programs.  Is the only unfinished work
the PSW?  Is the PSW present in far more control blocks than the
registers?

-- gil

----------------------------------------------------------------------
For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions,
send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO
Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html

Reply via email to