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Does the ISA matter a lot these days? If we look at the mobile world, specifically Android, most programs are written in Java. So, as long as the compiler, the
by sagargv 12y ago
Does the ISA matter a lot these days? If we look at the mobile world, specifically Android, most programs are written in Java. So, as long as the compiler, the OS, and the JVM are ported to a new ISA, most apps will run happily.
Also, is binary ISA translation restricted by patents?
- Narishma 12y agoThat's true in theory. In practice, a not insignificant number of popular Android apps (mostly, but not limited to, games) are written in non-Java languages. That limits those apps to ARM unless the developers bother to provide versions for other ISAs, which practically nobody does.
- niklasni1 12y agoIt doesn't matter a lot, no. But you do have to pick one for your platform, and decide if you want to be tied to, say, Intel's specific offerings, or (in principle) anyone with an ARM license. If RISC-V gets off the ground, you'll be able to pick a completely open standard.
- redraga 12y ago> Also, is binary ISA translation restricted by patents? Intel has binary translation software to run ARM apps on x86 phones, so I'd guess it's not limited by patents.
- marssaxman 12y agoMost apps...? We live in different worlds, clearly! I know people use Java for boring corporate line of business apps and boring corporate web server projects, but none of the apps I actually care about are written in Java, and I see no trends suggesting that this will ever change.
- deleted 12y ago[deleted]
- wtracy 12y agoWhat Android apps do you use that rely on native code? All the ones that I'm aware of are either games or half-arsed ports of iOS apps.
- marssaxman 12y agoI don't really use Android apps. But now I see that I misread your comment, and thus my reply was irrelevant.
- zwieback 12y agoNot as much as it used to but getting a next-generation device off the ground involves a lot of custom low-level code that's very specific to instruction set and architecture. If you're just doing a me-too product you almost don't need to worry about anything above the OS level.
- zanny 12y agoI'd say the ISA still matters. A lot of problems in the GNU/Linux space are device development, which starts with the processor. Since all these projects target ultra-mobile or notebook form factors, you need integrated SoC boards with everything ready to go custom ordered, but the mounting costs of proprietary tech like ARM adds up in part to kill such endeavors, because you need scale enough to subsidize the license costs, at the least.