In re: http://mail.python.org/pipermail/python-list/2006-March/371757.html
Dear Peter Maas The Intel 80xxx architecture is horrible when compared to an IBM S/360, or S/370, or S/390 or Z machines. IBM mainframes performance is measured in Millions Of Instructions executed per second, and not on some clock speed, But rather, how many millions of completed instructions are executed in 1-second. Numbers like 428 are common MIPS rates. That's 428,000,000 instructions completed by the CPU per second. I can't relate to how many instructions get executed per second on a 2.8Ghz CPU because I can't find out how many cycles each Intel instruction takes.. I really don't care how fast a clock goes. I care about how many instructions are executed per second. As for converting a number from Hex to Decimal we do it this way, with one (1) CVD instruction, on IBM mainframes. START 0 Tell the assembler to start this program at relative location zero ( 0 ). HEX2DEC BALR 6,0 Start the program USING *,6 Tell the assembler to use Register 6 as the base of this program B Step01 Branch to Step01 to get started Hexword DS F Define a storage area of a 4-byte word. Outarea DS PL8 Define a storage area for an 8-byte packed decimal number, max = 999,999,999,999,999 * This is a comment i.e. 999 trillion, 999 billion, 999 million, 999 thousand, 999 ones. Visible DS CL15 Define a storage area for a 15-byte displayable characters area. Step01 EQU * L R5,Hexword Put the 4-byte hexadecimal number into General Purpose Register 5. CVD R5, Outarea Tell the CPU to convert the 4-byte number into a 15 digit signed number in displayable characters UNPK Visible(15),Outarea(8) Make the 15-digit number displayable OI Visible+14,X'F0" Correct the sign of the last digit. BR R14 Return to the operating system END Define the end of the program to the assembler Of course you didn't need to know any of this, except that I am sick of hearing how "great" the Intel architecture is. Phooey ! IBM had INTEL beat into the ground in 1967, (way before the 8088 existed) and has not looked back since. Thanks for accepting a rant from a stranger. Dan McGarigle ( 36 years an IBM mainframe programmer and proud of it, thank you ! ) El Segundo, CA
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