Mark Bixby writes:

>How about creating a virtual 908 machine by writing a PA-RISC instruction set
>emulator that would run on Wintel hardware?  A high-end Wintel machine might
>yield acceptable performance for low-end MPE development purposes.

Apart from the poor performance expected when a CISC machine emulates a
RISC machine, there's the question of providing an emulation of the
hardware -- otherwise, MPE won't run. I don't think that the hardware is
documented well enough to make this practical.

>Of course, the software support issue still remains.

As does licensing, since you'd need to have an MPE/iX license even if you
don't need any HP hardware. Reread the previous sentence from the point
of view of HP management to judge the likelihood of this ever occurring
:-).

All in all, it's much cheaper to buy a used MPE machine complete with
software license. And as a developer, I have to ask: if someone can't pay
$5,000 for a used MPE machine, how much are they going to be willing to
pay for any emulator I write?

-- Bruce

PS. And then for REALLY bad performance, there's MPE/iX compatibility
mode: a CISC machine emulating a RISC machine emulating a CISC machine!
(Running interpreted BASIC/3000.) I'm told that long-time IBM shops
sometimes have one or two programs operating under several levels of
emulation, though I've never seen this myself.

- B


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bruce Toback    Tel: (602) 996-8601| My candle burns at both ends;
OPT, Inc.            (800) 858-4507| It will not last the night;
11801 N. Tatum Blvd. Ste. 142      | But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends -
Phoenix AZ 85028                   | It gives a lovely light.
[log in to unmask]                   |     -- Edna St. Vincent Millay