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Were they so far behind in VLSI design that decapping and reverse engineering was a better option than re-implementing the processor from a published spec?
by jevinskie 11y ago
Were they so far behind in VLSI design that decapping and reverse engineering was a better option than re-implementing the processor from a published spec?
- efoto 11y agoI suspect yes, that was one of the reasons. They were likely lacking CAD tools for VLSI design.
- BarsMonster 11y agoThey were much less behind than it is now (1-2-5 years max). The problem is that leadership of USSR wanted to take advantage of using existing software - hence demanded 100% exact copy of hardware (starting from IBM-360). By many these actions were considered a treason, especially in retrospective. There were independent developments, they worked but never went widespread (because they needed an "order" from the state).