Bounds checking in hardware is an awesome idea. It's still simpler than full protection modes and is more versatile. Not only does it allow efficient software J

Bounds checking in hardware is an awesome idea. It's still simpler than full protection modes and is more versatile. Not only does it allow efficient software JIT implementation of protection but it also allows pervasive bounds checking to eliminate buffer overflows and other common errors. It eliminates the performance incentive for a lot of unsafe code. What I'm suggesting is not a total clean slate. It could be done easily on current processors or current instruction sets and would be more an omission than a change to core architecture. I wonder if doing it on current chips and just ignoring all the protection and remapping logic would have a performance benefit? Look at the boost you get on some databases with transparent hugepages, which kind of do that.