From: rjs@fdy2.co.uk   
      
   On Wed, 06 Aug 2025 17:00:03 -0400, EricP wrote:   
      
   > Thomas Koenig wrote:   
   >>   
   >> Or look at the performance of the TTL implementation of HP-PA, which   
   >> used PALs which were not available to the VAX 11/780 designers, so it   
   >> could be clocked a bit higher, but at a multiple of the performance   
   >> than the VAX.   
   >>   
   >> So, Anton visiting DEC or me visiting Data General could have brought   
   >> them a technology which would significantly outperformed the VAX   
   >> (especially if we brought along the algorithm for graph coloring.  Some   
   >> people at IBM would have been peeved at having somebody else "develop"   
   >> this at the same time, but OK.   
   >>   
   >>   
   > Signetics 82S100/101 Field Programmable Logic Array FPAL (an AND-OR   
   > matrix)   
   > were available in 1975. Mask programmable PLA were available from TI   
   > circa 1970 but masks would be too expensive.   
   >   
   > If I was building a TTL risc cpu in 1975 I would definitely be using   
   > lots of FPLA's, not just for decode but also state machines in fetch,   
   > page table walkers, cache controllers, etc.   
      
   The DG MV/8000 used PALs but The Soul of a New Machine hints that there   
   were supply problems with them at the time.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
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