Word: cisc
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...CISC (an acronym for complex instruction set computer) approach is to have many instructions and few instructions per task. The RISC (an acronym for reduced instruction set computer) approach is to cut down on the number of instructions the microprocessor understands, but to execute the small number of instructions more quickly...
...other words, a RISC processor reduces the number of cycles per instruction and reduces the time per cycle, but increases the number of instructions per task. A CISC processor, on the other hand, requires fewer instructions per task but typically processes fewer instructions per second. However, since compilers rarely generate complex instructions, RISC chips should be able to be pushed faster and faster, while CISC performance must plateau...
Each architecture represents a series of tough trade-offs. CISC's major problem is that a processor which allows many instructions is difficult to design and difficult to speed up; RISC chips are easier to develop and easier to speed up. The RISC architecture, however, requires greater memory and hard disk space than the CISC architecture, as most PowerMac owners will readily attest...
...theory, therefore, RISC chips are the wave of the future and CISC chips are a technological dead-end. Most microprocessor companies have voted with their feet by shifting design resources to RISC-based architectures. MIPS, Hewlett-Packard, Digital Sun Microsystems, IBM, Apple and Motorola are all converts...
...practice, CISC chips in the form of Intel's x86 family are ingrained in the marketplace and cannot be ignored. But Intel has claimed the P7, scheduled to hit the market in the year 2000, will be a combination CISC-RISC (CRISC?) chip...