IMPACT OF VLSI ON MICROPROGRAMMING.

Abstract

The effect of trends in VLSI (very large scale integration) on microprogramming is assessed by looking the effect on each of the following cultures it affects. The bit-slice culture will be affected because levels integration in bipolar have reached 32-bit slices and the perfourmance of CMOS is improving to compete with the dominant bipolar technologies in these applications. The commercial processor culture and the microprogrammable processor culture will be least affected by changes in technology and integration levels. The single-chip culture will be most affected. There are considered to be about two more microprocessor generations to go before chips contain an essentially complete CPU.