How many of you like HP41C calculators?

From: Tom Jennings <tomj_at_wps.com>
Date: Wed Nov 19 13:32:57 2003

On Tue, 2003-11-18 at 16:05, Tony Duell wrote:

> > But is it STORED PROGRAM, eg. can it do self-modifying code. vonNeumann
>
> It's a bit odd. It's got separate machine code program and data memories,
> but user keystroke programs are stored in _data_ memory, and interpretted
> by the machine-code operating system.

yes this occurred to me also, the Parallax BASIC STAMPs do the same
thing. It doesn't matter of course in most practical realms, this
stored-program distinction.

> > Strictly-speaking, Microchip's PICs are NOT COMPUTERS. Of course I don't
>
> Since when? AFAIK, Harvard architecture machines are computers.
> Self-modification of programs is not a requirement.

Well, for rigor, I reserve "computer" for the stored-program machines,
but this is approaching religious behavior, I admit, and clearly a PIC
with an interpreter suuuure acts like one... :-)
Received on Wed Nov 19 2003 - 13:32:57 GMT