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It seems like the RISC-V ISA would make more sense for a project like this, no?

by mtgx 9y ago

detaro 9y ago
No, why would it? ARM is well-known, well-supported by the software ecosystem and there are tons of cheap chips readily available so you can pick whatever you like. RISC-V has none of these things right now. One type of chip available, I doubt they could have gotten it at the time (or even right now) in the numbers they need, it would need companion chips for things the current one has integrated (Bluetooth), would be more expensive and would likely require more software work. Exciting, yes, but at the lower levels "boring" is exactly what you want for a project like this. The entire thing is supposed to be cheap so you can distribute it widely and additional effort spent has a way higher impact if it goes to documentation, teaching materials, example projects, … than to making low-level changes most users won't even notice.
pjc50 9y ago
Can you buy a RISC-V device off the shelf with integrated Bluetooth? It looks like BT was the architecture driver, so they used https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-low-energy/nRF51822 https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-low-energy... - the radio is the difficult bit, and the processor having spare capacity is a convenient by product.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
cmrdporcupine 9y ago
Not yet. But hopefully soon.
jacquesm 9y ago
There is a very long history regarding the BBC and ARM, you could say that without the BBC ARM would not have existed at all.
- matthewwarren 9y ago
  > you could say that without the BBC ARM would not have existed at all Huh, I'd not thought about it like that before. Yeah I guess ARM/Acorn does owe the BBC quite a bit!
zenojevski 9y ago
RISC-V is the new Rust
- steveklabnik 9y ago
  why not both https://abopen.com/news/rust-comes-risc-v/ https://abopen.com/news/rust-comes-risc-v/
  - zenojevski 9y ago
    Upvoted for being such a positive champion

It seems like the RISC-V ISA would make more sense for a project like this, no?

by mtgx 9y ago

It seems like the RISC-V ISA would make more sense for a project like this, no?

No, why would it? ARM is well-known, well-supported by the software ecosystem and there are tons of cheap chips readily available so you can pick whatever you like. RISC-V has none of these things right now. One type of chip available, I doubt they could have gotten it at the time (or even right now) in the numbers they need, it would need companion chips for things the current one has integrated (Bluetooth), would be more expensive and would likely require more software work. Exciting, yes, but at the lower levels "boring" is exactly what you want for a project like this. The entire thing is supposed to be cheap so you can distribute it widely and additional effort spent has a way higher impact if it goes to documentation, teaching materials, example projects, … than to making low-level changes most users won't even notice.

pjc50 9y ago

Can you buy a RISC-V device off the shelf with integrated Bluetooth? It looks like BT was the architecture driver, so they used https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-low-energy/nRF51822 https://www.nordicsemi.com/eng/Products/Bluetooth-low-energy... - the radio is the difficult bit, and the processor having spare capacity is a convenient by product.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

cmrdporcupine 9y ago

Not yet. But hopefully soon.

jacquesm 9y ago

There is a very long history regarding the BBC and ARM, you could say that without the BBC ARM would not have existed at all.

matthewwarren 9y ago
> you could say that without the BBC ARM would not have existed at all Huh, I'd not thought about it like that before. Yeah I guess ARM/Acorn does owe the BBC quite a bit!

zenojevski 9y ago

RISC-V is the new Rust

steveklabnik 9y ago
why not both https://abopen.com/news/rust-comes-risc-v/ https://abopen.com/news/rust-comes-risc-v/
- zenojevski 9y ago
  Upvoted for being such a positive champion