Re: XMOS XC-1 kits are ****pping

In article=20
  <3d4b6f41-b742-405d-87bd-47e2fb75ac1d@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>,=20
leon355@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
 says...
> On 13 Oct, 20:42, Eric Smith <e...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> wrote:
> > Bob wrote about XMOS:
> >
> > > They seem far too fixated on doing everything in software, things
lik=
e
> > > ethernet where there is no point shoveling bytes in software if
> > > hardware can take care of it.
> > Leon wrote:
> > > They are supplying free libraries for all the usual peripheral
> > > functions. Doing stuff like that in software is much cheaper than
> > > using hardware, and easier in many ways.
> >
> > Been there, done that, and it's not cheaper or easier when you
> > consider the overall system cost impact, not just the "benefit" of
> > leaving out the hardware block. =A0That was the path Scenix/Ubicom
went
> > down, calling it "virtual peripherals", and it was not very
> > successful. =A0Ubicom has since added hardware for Ethernet, USB,
> > etc. to their most recent parts. =A0The reality is that a hardware
> > Ethernet MAC costs less than the total system cost impact of the
> > software alternative.
> >
> > Eric
>=20
> Not if you have four 400 MIPS cores on the chip, each with 64 bits of
> I/O, 64k of RAM, with 3.2 Gbit/s comms links between cores and 32
> threads per core, with switching between threads in one clock. If the
> software is free, it is a very cost-effective solution, especially as
> the chips will be very cheap.

The PC market solution to determinisity -

=09"If in doubt put bigger processor(s) and=20
=09 lots more memory to solve the 'problem'"

Having seen how easily screwed even software UARTs can get, and
when something goes wrong all other activity is screwed.

The PC example is dodgy CD inserted, nothing else can work until
the upto 30 seconds of lockout. Lots of other examples exist.

This sort of software emulation of hardware ONLY is useful for
cheap and nasty commodity products that assume that unusability
is always solved by a reset (for some products that means host PC
AS WELL!).

This means for the VAST majority of *my* applications it is useless.

--=20
Paul Carpenter          | paul@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
>    PC Services
<http://www.pcserviceselectronics.co.uk/fonts/>
Timing Diagram Font
<http://www.gnuh8.org.uk/>
 GNU H8 - compiler & Renesas H8/H8S/H8 Tiny
<http://www.badweb.org.uk/>
For those web sites you hate