[comp.sys.mips] r3000 and r4000 Arch books for public eyes yet?

des@uno.edu (Dan Smith) (04/12/91)

Has MIPS (or anyone else for that matter) published any 'User' guides
to MIPS R3000 and R4000 chips yet?  I.E. is there a public ISBN number
for these beasts that we (the downtrodden masses) can use to enlighten
ourselves on the more arcain facts about these chip sets?

Dan Smith -- Network Software Body @ Uno.Edu

ps: Stuff on the r6xxx series would be nice too.. (Mr Wilkes?  are you
out there?? -- grin)

rex@cs.su.oz (Rex Di Bona) (04/12/91)

In article <00946FC9.05514960@uno.edu> des@uno.edu (Dan Smith) writes:
> 
> Has MIPS (or anyone else for that matter) published any 'User' guides
> to MIPS R3000 and R4000 chips yet?  I.E. is there a public ISBN number
> for these beasts that we (the downtrodden masses) can use to enlighten
> ourselves on the more arcain facts about these chip sets?

The R3000 is (from a user's point of view) the same as the R2000 and the
complete coverage is in "mips RISC ARCHITECTURE" by Gerry Kane (the newer
versions now mention both the R2000 and the R3000).
ISBN 0-13-584749-4
Published by Prentice Hall

Does MIPS still have (ever had??) the policy of distributing one of these
with each machine? We got a whole stack when we bought a number of machines,
and given the perpetual calls for SPARC architecture manuals I think
this is (would be??) a good idea.

Now, the R4000, I'm drooling on the keyboard waiting for some real
documentation about it's instructions set, currently we have to be content
to know that it's upwardly compatible with the R2000/R3000 (and I hope
R6000)

The R6000 uses the mipsII instruction set, which seems to have a few more
opcodes, mainly to deal with co-processor stuff, and double word load
and store for fp, but I haven't found anything definite about it either :-(

All in all, it is easy to know about the core of the architecture, and the
Kane book is very well written, but I'd love to see a new edition with the
R4000/R6000 in it :-)
--------
Rex di Bona (rex@cs.su.oz.au)
Penguin Lust is NOT immoral

burn@comperex.oz (Burn Alting) (04/12/91)

In article <2291@cluster.cs.su.oz.au> rex@cluster.cs.su.oz (Rex Di Bona) writes:
>
[Stuff Deleted]
>
>Does MIPS still have (ever had??) the policy of distributing one of these
>with each machine? We got a whole stack when we bought a number of machines,
>and given the perpetual calls for SPARC architecture manuals I think
>this is (would be??) a good idea.

MIPS used to and still does distribute the "MIPS R2000/R3000 RISC Architecture
Manual" with a RISC/os Manual Set (Programmers Documentation Set) as opposed
to the system itself.

>
[Stuff Deleted]
>
>Rex di Bona (rex@cs.su.oz.au)
>Penguin Lust is NOT immoral

Burn Alting (burn@comperex.cx.oz.au)

des@uno.edu (Dan Smith) (04/12/91)

In article <399@comperex.oz>, burn@comperex.oz (Burn Alting) writes:
>In article <2291@cluster.cs.su.oz.au> rex@cluster.cs.su.oz (Rex Di Bona) writes:
>>
>[Stuff Deleted]
>>
>>Does MIPS still have (ever had??) the policy of distributing one of these
>>with each machine? We got a whole stack when we bought a number of machines,
>>and given the perpetual calls for SPARC architecture manuals I think
>>this is (would be??) a good idea.
>
>MIPS used to and still does distribute the "MIPS R2000/R3000 RISC Architecture
>Manual" with a RISC/os Manual Set (Programmers Documentation Set) as opposed
>to the system itself.
>
[Still more stuff deleted]

Sorry, I should have made myself a bit more explicit.  I've read the
R2000 book and found it to be a very good source of how the
instruction set worked.  And I appreciate finding out that they have a
new version of the book out.  What I was really asking was "Does there
exist a 'Users Guide' similar to the Motorola series books for the
68K."  These books are the 'bibles' for anyone interested in designing
boards and writing operating systems for these chips.  I.E. Is MIPS
making the software AND hardware interface specs available.  The R2000
book is good for the system side of design but the hardware end would
be interesting too.

Hope this clears up my original question a bit..

Dan Smith -- Network Software Body @ Uno.Edu

rogerk@mips.com (Roger B.A. Klorese) (04/12/91)

In article <2291@cluster.cs.su.oz.au> rex@cluster.cs.su.oz (Rex Di Bona) writes:
>Now, the R4000, I'm drooling on the keyboard waiting for some real
>documentation about it's instructions set, currently we have to be content
>to know that it's upwardly compatible with the R2000/R3000 (and I hope
>R6000)
>
>All in all, it is easy to know about the core of the architecture, and the
>Kane book is very well written, but I'd love to see a new edition with the
>R4000/R6000 in it :-)

We're within a few months of it.  Remember that the R4000 chip set (as opposed
to the technology) is still not officially announced.  Look for the book at the
time of the announcement.
-- 
ROGER B.A. KLORESE                                  MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
MS 6-05    930 DeGuigne Dr.   Sunnyvale, CA  94088              +1 408 524-7421
"10 years of Reagan/Bush have brought us to a new place: postconstitutional
America." - Jon Carroll     rogerk@mips.COM | {ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!rogerk 

rogerk@mips.com (Roger B.A. Klorese) (04/12/91)

In article <00946FC9.05514960@uno.edu> des@uno.edu (Dan Smith) writes:
>Has MIPS (or anyone else for that matter) published any 'User' guides
>to MIPS R3000 and R4000 chips yet?

Information on announced chips comes from two places: the "MIPS RISC 
Architecture" book (R2000/R3000 version available now, R6000/R4000 version
will be available in a few months), which documents the instruction set and
software-visible architecture, and the data sheets and processor specs
provided by our semiconductor partners (IDT, Performance, LSI, NEC, and Siemens
for CMOS) for pinouts and the like.
-- 
ROGER B.A. KLORESE                                  MIPS Computer Systems, Inc.
MS 6-05    930 DeGuigne Dr.   Sunnyvale, CA  94088              +1 408 524-7421
"10 years of Reagan/Bush have brought us to a new place: postconstitutional
America." - Jon Carroll     rogerk@mips.COM | {ames,decwrl,pyramid}!mips!rogerk 

cprice@mips.com (Charlie Price) (04/13/91)

In article <00947042.1469AF40@uno.edu> des@uno.edu (Dan Smith) writes:
>In article <399@comperex.oz>, burn@comperex.oz (Burn Alting) writes:
>>
>>MIPS used to and still does distribute the "MIPS R2000/R3000 RISC Architecture
>>Manual" with a RISC/os Manual Set (Programmers Documentation Set) as opposed
>>to the system itself.
>
>Sorry, I should have made myself a bit more explicit.  I've read the
>R2000 book and found it to be a very good source of how the
>instruction set worked.  And I appreciate finding out that they have a
>new version of the book out.  What I was really asking was "Does there
>exist a 'Users Guide' similar to the Motorola series books for the
>68K."  These books are the 'bibles' for anyone interested in designing
>boards and writing operating systems for these chips.  I.E. Is MIPS
>making the software AND hardware interface specs available.  The R2000
>book is good for the system side of design but the hardware end would
>be interesting too.

One difference here is that Motorola sells chips and MIPS doesn't.

The people who sell the chips are very interested in helping
people be successful with them, however, and should be able to
get you interface specs and such.
Our CMOS partners are, in alphabetical order:

Integrated Device Technology
3226 Scott Blvd.
P.O. Box 58015
Santa Clara, CA   95052-8015
Tel: (408) 727-6116

LSI Logic Corporation
1551 McCarthy Blvd.
Milpitas, CA   95035
Tel: (408) 433-8000
Attn: MIPS Division

NEC Electonics
401 Ellis St
P.O. Box 7241
Mountain View, CA   95035
Tel: (415) 960-6000
Attn: Microprocessor Marketing

NEC Corporation
NEC Building
7-1, Shiva 5-chome, Minatoku
Tokyo 108-01, Japan
Tel: (03)-3454-1111

NEC Electronics Europe
Oberrather Str.4
4000 Dusseldorf 30, West Germany
Tel: (0211)-650301

Performance Semiconductor Corp.
610 E. Weddell Dr.
Sunnyvale, CA   94089
Tel: (408) 734-9000
Attn: Microprocessor Marketing

Siemens Components, Inc.
2191 Laurelwood Rd.
Santa Clara, CA   95054
Tel: (408) 980-4506
Attn: Integrated Circuit Division

Siemens AG
Semidonductor Division Marketing
Microprocessor Products
Balanstrasse 73
POB 801709
D-8000 Munich 80
Tel: (-89) 4144-0


Our two ECL (R6000) partners are NEC and Sony.
You may have heard about BIT and be wondering where they come into this.
MIPS currently gets R6000 parts from Bipolar Integrated Technology (BIT),
but BIT is not a semiconductor partner allowed to sell to the open market,
they are a foundry and only allowed to supply chips to MIPS.
One supposes that you could eventually buy an R6000 chipset from
one of the ECL partners.

NEC (addresses above in the CMOS group)

Sony Corporation
10833 Valley View St.
Cypress, CA   90630-0016
Component Products Group
(714) 229-4270

Sony Corporation
4-10-18, Takanawa
Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108 Japan
Products Marketing Dept III
Semiconductor Div.
Component Marketing Group
Tel: (03) 3448-3425
-- 
Charlie Price    cprice@mips.mips.com        (408) 720-1700
MIPS Computer Systems / 928 Arques Ave.  MS 1-03 / Sunnyvale, CA   94086-23650