Chapter 9. 64-Bit Computing and x86-64
On a number of occasions in previous chapters, I’ve discussed some of the more undesirable aspects of the PC market’s most popular instruction set architecture—the x86. The x86 ISA’s complex addressing modes, its inclusion of unwieldy and obscure instructions, its variable instruction lengths, its dearth of architectural registers, and its other quirks have vexed programmers, compiler writers, and microprocessor architects for years.
In spite of these drawbacks, the x86 ISA continues to enjoy widespread commercial success, and the number of markets in which it competes continues to expand. The reasons for this ongoing success are varied, but one factor stands out as by far the most important: inertia. The ...
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