On Mon, Oct 28, 2024 at 11:43 AM Christian Schulte <c...@schulte.it> wrote: ... > I would really like to understand why this architecture stood the test > of time. Just because it boots in 8 bit CPU mode from the 70ties not > even capable of beating a 6502? <...>
Building a base of users with computers capable of running a more powerful ISA/OS/whatever (while it still supports their existing applications), so that application writers believe that there will be sufficient user base with that capability to use software written to use that power, which drives more people to get those more capable computers, has been a huge driver of not just the evolution of x86 but of the computer industry as a whole. x86 made those steps easy for a line of ISA evolution; Apple went a different direction and put the backwards/forwards compat into their build tools so you could build on one arch/OS-version and move to a different one and did that so well that they managed to move user bases from m68k to powerpc to x86 to arm64 with compat across each transition. You _do_ understand that the set of people who can rebuild all the software they directly use is *tiny* and the subset of those for whom doing so is a net positive use of the limited time they have between birth is death is insubstantial, yes? For Linus's thoughts on the amd64 transition, consider https://yarchive.net/comp/amd64.html If the above doesn't have you going "I see how others could value something that I found inscrutable" then I don't think I can help you any further in that understanding. Philip Guenther
