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Questions tagged [arm]

ARM is a British processor manufacturer that evolved from Acorn Computers in 1985.

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ARMv4/ARM7: Does writing to PC using LDR flush the pipeline?

This is a question about the ARMv4 architecture, particularly as embodied by the ARM7TDMI processor. Does writing to R15 using LDR flush the pipeline? Naturally, it's clearly documented that BX ...
jogloran's user avatar
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13 votes
2 answers
399 views

ARMv4: Does reading PC with a "shift by register" operand really offset it by an additional 4 bytes?

Section 4.5.5 of the ARMv4 docs read (my emphasis): 4.5.5 Using R15 as an operand If R15 (the PC) is used as an operand in a data processing instruction the register is used directly. The PC value ...
jogloran's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
121 views

What are the legal values at offset 0x30 in the Risc OS AIF header

I'm now poking around in the binary executable file format of the Acorn Archimedes family of computers, Arm Image Format or AIF. It doesn't have a magic word but the *nix file utility identifies them ...
hippietrail's user avatar
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14 votes
0 answers
735 views

Original instruction set for the first ARM processor

I'm studying ISAs and would really like to see the very first ISA that Sophie Wilson chose/put together when designing the very first ARM CPU while at Acorn Computers around 1983 or so. From what I ...
dvanaria's user avatar
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9 votes
6 answers
963 views

Would compare-and-branch have added an extra cycle on ARM-1?

The ARM-1 was an early RISC CPU, designed in 1986 (and even more typical of early RISC design constraints than the year would suggest, since Acorn didn't have the budget to pay for the latest process ...
rwallace's user avatar
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7 votes
1 answer
810 views

Is there a list of the differences between the various ARM architectures?

I am in particular interested in the differences between ARMv4 and ARMv7 (I have a particular task in mind), but to make this question more generally useful to future readers, I'll ask more generally ...
Omar and Lorraine's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
1k views

What are the “building bricks” of ARM’s design that this magazine article is referring to?

I came across an early mention of the ARM in New Scientist of June 18, 1987: https://books.google.ca/books?id=LvhAoKR-ixwC&pg=PA41 It has this statement: They realised that many of the ...
Maury Markowitz's user avatar
8 votes
3 answers
831 views

Did the ARM-1 really outperform the 387?

According to a comment on https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31985142 The first benchmarks indicated the plain Archimedes had higher FP throughput than a 16MHz 386 with a 387. The original ...
rwallace's user avatar
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15 votes
5 answers
1k views

Has there been any effort to research the undocumented Thumb instructions of ARM7TDMI?

Many CPUs have "holes" in the ISA, where the bit pattern is left undefined. Considering the Z80 and the 6502, many people have mapped out what these undocumented instructions actually do. ...
Omar and Lorraine's user avatar
-6 votes
1 answer
671 views

Is the Raspberry Pi Model B (2014) technically inferior to an original Xbox (2001) in compute power/specifically for emulators? [closed]

(I first asked this in the Raspberry Pi section, but it received no responses. I think this, Retrocomputing, might be a better fit.) I the year 2003, I had my Xbox chipped in order to be able to run ...
Aedyn's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
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How fast did the ARM-1 access memory?

The ARM-1, an early 32-bit RISC CPU, was used in the Acorn Archimedes computers, released in 1987. Its rated speed was one 32-bit instruction per cycle at 8 MHz. Typical RAM chips at that time would ...
rwallace's user avatar
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24 votes
2 answers
1k views

History of ARM Linux and FPA

ARM Linux, at least Debian was traditionally (pre eabi) built for the FPA floating point unit*. Unfortunately under old ABI it was not easily possible to mix soft-float code with FPA code. The result ...
Peter Green's user avatar
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8 votes
2 answers
4k views

What sort of SBC is in the C64 Maxi?

Curious as to what model SBC this unit is using https://retrogames.biz/thec64 8 bit guys teardown says the internals are 'an ARM computer similar to a Raspberry Pi' https://youtu.be/kxx2F4ffmeE
dashnick's user avatar
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10 votes
4 answers
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Why didn't the Acorn Archimedes support general purpose co-processors?

Acorn's BBC Micro series is well known for the range of add-on processors (or Second Processors) that could be connected through it's Tube interface. These included the 6502, Z80, 80186, and also the ...
Kaz's user avatar
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18 votes
2 answers
2k views

Did any early RISC OS precursor run on the BBC Micro?

Acorn famously developed the ARM microprocessor using their existing BBC Micros internally, both to simulate the ARM and to develop for actual ARM using a Tube-connected second processor. Later, ...
Brian H's user avatar
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2 votes
2 answers
1k views

Differences between normal ARM7TDMI and ARM7TDMI used in GBA [closed]

I was wondering if there are any significant differences between a plain old ARM7TDMI processor and the ARM7TDMI the GBA console uses. I'm interested in learning to program a GBA or an ARM7 type ...
user avatar
8 votes
5 answers
794 views

Why isn't the approach to lower power CPUs guided by design rather than accident?

We know that the ARM chip came out of the Acorn computing initiative. In the book The One Device, we read: The low-power big thing that the ARM is most valued for today, the reason that it's on ...
hawkeye's user avatar
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26 votes
2 answers
3k views

Was the first ARM "processor" a BBC BASIC program?

The best background I have found so far on the early development of the ARM processor at Acorn comes from this interview with Steve Furber. The interview does not mention the development of the first ...
Brian H's user avatar
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