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From: "186282@ud0s4.net" <186283@ud0s4.net>
Subject: Remember "Bit-Slice" Chips ?
Organization: wokiesux
Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2024 02:33:09 -0500
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Latter 70s they were The Thing.

Needed a 64/128 processor in an 8-bit world, then
bit-slice processors were yer fix.

They were the basics of a CPU - but wired so you
could physically attach them to MORE processors.
All the necessary flags/registers/etc could be
expanded wider and wider.

You could buy 2-bit, 4-bit, slice processors and
physically build something much stronger.

I even remember hearing of them mentioned in some
cheap TV series - some geek with his own R2D2
clone that was WAY too capable for the era.

TODAY ... well ... you can make a 64/128 on like
a 1cm die - really party on a 2cm die.

Bit-slice now - you'd loose far too much in
the interface wiring. Really no longer a
solution - unless maybe you need a 1024/2048
processor  :-)

Kinda the same goes for 'Transputers' - parallel
solution using ultra-speed (for the day) serial
links between many processors to coordinate
things between all the chips (they could have
a shared memory area too).

Older tech limitations spawned FIXES ... there
were many. Some were very *clever* - might even
have future apps.


-- 
033-33