Thread

Unearthing my 1996 windowed OS in machine code for Am29000 homebrew computer

130 points · 31 comments · nanochess

fidotron · 1786037529 · focus · HN ↗
How is the phrase "register window" not in this article? <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_window" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Register_window
"The AMD 29000 improved the design by allowing the windows to be of variable size, which helps utilization in the common case where fewer than eight registers are needed for a call. It also separated the registers into a global set of 64, and an additional 128 for the windows."
Amazing stuff. (Both the 29K and the article).
1. taolson · 1786038881 · focus · HN ↗
  The registers could also be partitioned into fixed sizes and protected, to allow for a banked register file that allowed for amazingly fast context switches in RTOS systems.
  1. fidotron · 1786039345 · focus · HN ↗
    Yes, I had an architecture professor that was a fan of it (and so your work, presumably!) It's the only way I'd encountered it, sadly.
    That was back around 2000 at Loughborough in the UK.

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