Path: ...!feeds.phibee-telecom.net!3.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!proxad.net!feeder1-2.proxad.net!usenet-fr.net!news.gegeweb.eu!gegeweb.org!nntp.terraraq.uk!.POSTED.tunnel.sfere.anjou.terraraq.org.uk!not-for-mail
From: Richard Kettlewell <invalid@invalid.invalid>
Newsgroups: comp.os.linux.misc
Subject: Re: Can't Avoid That Shit Rust - Even On Gentoo
Date: Wed, 02 Oct 2024 08:55:02 +0100
Organization: terraraq NNTP server
Message-ID: <wwv5xqbdjmx.fsf@LkoBDZeT.terraraq.uk>
References: <vdfdcj$2dsh2$7@dont-email.me>
	<memo.20241001005626.19028n@jgd.cix.co.uk>
	<SIWcnUEd568w6mb7nZ2dnZfqnPednZ2d@earthlink.com>
	<GCVKO.42525$s7Ce.8737@fx46.iad>
	<E8-dnc9jS_FeT2H7nZ2dnZfqnPidnZ2d@earthlink.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
Injection-Info: innmantic.terraraq.uk; posting-host="tunnel.sfere.anjou.terraraq.org.uk:172.17.207.6";
	logging-data="49552"; mail-complaints-to="usenet@innmantic.terraraq.uk"
User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/28.2 (gnu/linux)
Cancel-Lock: sha1:qvUCB4L4Nvilln1fEEGVvgpIyyk=
X-Face: h[Hh-7npe<<b4/eW[]sat,I3O`t8A`(ej.H!F4\8|;ih)`7{@:A~/j1}gTt4e7-n*F?.Rl^
     F<\{jehn7.KrO{!7=:(@J~]<.[{>v9!1<qZY,{EJxg6?Er4Y7Ng2\Ft>Z&W?r\c.!4DXH5PWpga"ha
     +r0NzP?vnz:e/knOY)PI-
X-Boydie: NO
Bytes: 3043
Lines: 42

"186282@ud0s4.net" <186283@ud0s4.net> writes:
>   It's a really BIG number ...
>
>   But there SHOULD be a few 256/512-bit types in ye
>   olde library  :-)
>
>   Now CPUs ... maybe 128-bit IS what future-lookers
>   need to immediately switch to. Haven't heard many
>   complaints about 64-bit chips, yet, but doesn't
>   hurt to plan ahead. Circuitry can be made SO small
>   now that the extra stuff for 128 all through may
>   not be such a burden.

On x86:

* In one sense it is already up to 512 bits (if you have AVX512
  extensions), although that’s slightly misleading, since 512-bit
  registers are generally interpreted as vectors of smaller components
  (mostly, up to 64 bits)

* There are a handful up instructions that deal in 128-bit quantities
  (e.g. AES-NI extension, multipliers and dividers).

There’s relatively little need to deal with 128-bit quantities as such;
64-bits really is enough for most jobs. For most current CPUs virtual
memory addressing is still only 48-bit.

There are certainly niches that need larger quantities; classical
asymmetric cryptography can use integers hundreds or thousands of bits
long. While cryptography implementors might find 4096-bit integer
registers convenient it’d be an incredibly expensive waste for almost
everyon else.

> OR ... are 'CPUs' even bulk of The Future ?  Somehow I see "AI" -
> implemented on large distributed systems of diverse composition,
> likely even some 'quantum' thrown in - being the coming thing. They
> can emulate old CPUs.

AIs can’t even do basic arithmetic, CPU emulation is certainly not a
realistic proposition.

-- 
https://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/