Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 (Tek) 9/26/83; site dadla.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!mgnetp!ihnp4!houxm!houxz!vax135!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!teklds!dadla!dcall
From: dcall@dadla.UUCP (Dale Call)
Newsgroups: net.micro
Subject: 65816 uP
Message-ID: <87@dadla.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 10-Aug-84 13:31:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: dadla.87
Posted: Fri Aug 10 13:31:45 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 12-Aug-84 01:22:49 EDT
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 30


*Flame on*
	I don't know what anyone else thinks about the article in BTYE mag.
this month on this processor, but the author's statement that the 65816 is
entering the 16 bit uP market "on equal footing with the 8086 and 68000"
is absurd!!!  This is probably a great chip if you have a 6502 based 
machine, but it certainly doesn't compare (from a programmers point of view)
with any of the popular 16 bit chips.  You can't even transfer all registers 
between each other!  Its support of multiprocessing is far too limited 
(no supervisor mode and not enough registers).  It is more like a 6809 uP
without the seperate stacks, interrupt handling and orthogonal instruction
set and with an additional 8 bits of address (worthless on the 6502 pin
compatible chip).
*Flame off*

Nevertheless, it is a great step forward for folks with 6502 based machines.
Any chip capable of transfering 64K bytes of data in half a second at 1 MHz
is a real improvement over the 6502.  I hope the pin compatible version 
will allow plug-and-go upgrade.  Anyone out there had a chance to play with a 
real one yet?  


Dale Call

/*
The opinions expressed here are my own, and do not necessarily represent 
my employers views or those of my co-workers.
*/
Article referred to is in the August 1984 BYTE Magazine "The 65816" by
Steven P. Hendrix