| From: | Joe Block <JPB1@******.COM> |
|---|---|
| Subject: | STRIP, and decking in general |
| Date: | Mon, 26 Jul 1993 02:08:11 -0400 |
Given that there are several deck manufacturers, there is no way that all
Matrix equipment is using the same processor type.
In order to allow all decks to run all utilities, part of the OS of the
Cyberdeck must consist of an interpreter that allows it to run programs in
the processor independent format that is commonly distributed.
The deck's processors spend a lot of time pretending to be this generic CPU,
which is very inefficient as anyone who has worked with Soft PC (an IBM
emulator program for the Mac) knows. Sure it runs the IBM software, it is
just slower than hell compared to native Mac programs.
Now, an interesting tidbit that I hear about the PowerPC Macs coming out is
that Apple is working on a compiler that will take as input a regular Mac
program and compile it into PowerPC native code, allowing for faster
execution. If it works now in 1994 (and there is no good reason to assume
it won't), there is no good reason to believe it won't work in 2053.
Anyway, I'm proposing that instead of running a utility to strip out the
stuff that isn't relevant to your deck (the common binary format means there
won't be any such unnecessary code) you'd use a compiler to crunch it into
native code. Since it will run much quicker in native mode, I'd give it a
+1 or +2 to the rating to represent its ability to react faster than the
opposing Matrix constructs.
MPCP and persona chips could be custom burned using native mode compilation
too. I dunno enough about the game system yet to decide what bonus to give,
though.
Joe <jpb1@******.com>
The Crystal Wind is the Storm, and the Storm is Data, and the Data is Life.
-- The Player's Litany
