CompuServe Messages

>>It's the same thing or even worse with the motorola processors 68000, 68020+68851+68881, 68030+68882, and 68040. So what's the point ? As an assembly programmer with many years experience with the 80×86 and 680×0 series of processors, I have to disagree here. The differences in programing between the 286 and 386, and the 386 and 486 etc. are fairly large. If you want to really take advantage of the processor you must program special code optimized for the processor. It is necessary to really learn the ins and outs of each new processor that comes out. The 68020 added a few new instructions, none of which you really need in order to run a program faster. They just make the programmer's life easier. The 68040 added changed a few FPU instructions, but the FPU is something you rarely need to worry about programming (and easy to program anyway). The MMU did indeed change every time from the 851 to the 030 to the 040, but very rarely is it necessary to program the MMU. Only one out of a hundred programs you have touches it. Only virtual memory and the system at boot time use it. It is way easier to learn the 680×0 series of assembly language, and I have never found anyone who prefers programming assembly on an Intel to a Motorola. Regular 68000 code works quite efficiently on a 68040, but if you write your program for the 8086, it will be very inefficient compared to the same program coded directly for the 486 (assuming its a somewhat complex program).