2 ms·

They're microcontrollers, but the Parallax Propeller ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_Propeller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_Propeller ) and P

They're microcontrollers, but the Parallax Propeller ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_Propeller https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parallax_Propeller ) and Propeller 2 ( https://www.parallax.com/propeller-2/ https://www.parallax.com/propeller-2/ ) are really interesting architectures for several reasons. For one, they allow the code running on an individual core to be packaged up and reused like a module. They also include a high level language in ROM along with useful lookup tables and very versatile and capable I/O hardware.

pclmulqdq 4y ago
The propellers used a really interesting architecture - they had a large number of cores but the cores lacked features like interrupts or core timers. That meant that things that would normally be peripheral functions became code on a core.
- timschmidt 4y ago
  Exactly! So many tricks pulled off with a microcontroller require carefully timed hand-coded assembly loops, Chip Gracey managed to preserve that ever so useful fallback mode of microcontroller development while enabling multi-core applications. And as a result many of those carefully hand timed software blocks are now available for download and reuse. On single core microcontrollers, all that carefully timed assembly ends up interleaved with other logic in ways that make it nearly impossible to untangle for reuse.
- IshKebab 4y ago
  Sounds like XMOS. The problem is you end up paying the extra cost of doing things in software but 99% of the time you just want a completely standard I2C, SPI, UART, AXI or whatever.
  - pclmulqdq 4y ago
    Yeah, XMOS did a similar thing targeting audio (and I guess now AI), where this works brilliantly because sometimes you need very weird interfaces and custom filters, and you also generally need to do tricks to pull tons of performance out of your cores. Parallax attempted to do the same in general-purpose microcontrollers, and I'm not sure they have really come out ahead for it - most of the time you really do just need I2C or SPI, and you have a 100 MHz 32-bit ARM with a full suite of peripherals as your alternative.

pclmulqdq 4y ago

The propellers used a really interesting architecture - they had a large number of cores but the cores lacked features like interrupts or core timers. That meant that things that would normally be peripheral functions became code on a core.

timschmidt 4y ago
Exactly! So many tricks pulled off with a microcontroller require carefully timed hand-coded assembly loops, Chip Gracey managed to preserve that ever so useful fallback mode of microcontroller development while enabling multi-core applications. And as a result many of those carefully hand timed software blocks are now available for download and reuse. On single core microcontrollers, all that carefully timed assembly ends up interleaved with other logic in ways that make it nearly impossible to untangle for reuse.
IshKebab 4y ago
Sounds like XMOS. The problem is you end up paying the extra cost of doing things in software but 99% of the time you just want a completely standard I2C, SPI, UART, AXI or whatever.
- pclmulqdq 4y ago
  Yeah, XMOS did a similar thing targeting audio (and I guess now AI), where this works brilliantly because sometimes you need very weird interfaces and custom filters, and you also generally need to do tricks to pull tons of performance out of your cores. Parallax attempted to do the same in general-purpose microcontrollers, and I'm not sure they have really come out ahead for it - most of the time you really do just need I2C or SPI, and you have a 100 MHz 32-bit ARM with a full suite of peripherals as your alternative.