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Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
11–20 of 46 posts
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#12If the CPU is nibble-oriented, wouldn't that mean that that is its byte size?
Are you trying to make a pun with byte/bite relating to nibble? Because that's actually where the term nibble (referring to 4 bits) comes from, so I'm not sure such a pun even counts as a pun anymore. Or am I misinterpreting your comment?
When did we stop spelling it "nybble"?
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#13Earlier quoted context omitted.
A byte is always 8 bits. The word you're looking for is `word-size` which, in this case would be 4 bits.
A byte is not always 8 bits on old machines, though it is standardised as 8 bits nowadays. This is why network RFCs talk of "octets", to avoid the ambiguity. Octets are always 8 bits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octet_(computing)
The definition of a byte today is different than the definition of byte when those machines were manufactured. Just like how 'foot' is now standardized(*)
(* technically, a 'foot' is not a standard unit of measure but that's due to the long history of 'foot' not being standardized until relatively recently)
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#14My dad worked for HP from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. Needless to say, I used HP calculators in high school and college. The best things about having an HP calculator were the solid physical construction (the buttons on the 11C and 15C were awesome), the accuracy, and the fact that whenever your classmates asked to borrow your calculator they would recoil in horror when you asked them whether they knew RPN.…
My biggest challenge the first time I ever used an HP calculator was less RPN than the syntax of it. I thought I had to hit enter after every token so I typed, e.g., 2⎆3⎆+⎆ rather than 2⎆3+. Needless to say, this did not work as expected, but being simultaneously vain and bashful, I was unwilling to ask for help and did almost all the arithmetic for my freshman physics class by hand.
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
A byte is always 8 bits. The word you're looking for is `word-size` which, in this case would be 4 bits.
A byte is not always 8 bits on old machines, though it is standardised as 8 bits nowadays. This is why network RFCs talk of "octets", to avoid the ambiguity. Octets are always 8 bits. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octet_(computing)
I didn't realize that there was a 16 bit name called a 'chomp' haha. But more formally hextet.
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#16At least the 6502 has a BCD mode built in!
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#17My dad worked for HP from the mid-1970s through the mid-1990s. Needless to say, I used HP calculators in high school and college. The best things about having an HP calculator were the solid physical construction (the buttons on the 11C and 15C were awesome), the accuracy, and the fact that whenever your classmates asked to borrow your calculator they would recoil in horror when you asked them whether they knew RPN.…
> the buttons on the 11C and 15C were awesome
What is the trick to engineering HP calculator keys? Nobody gets keys right like the old HP calculators.
In this age of 3D printing and fast prototypes, we really ought to be able to crack this.
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
Are you trying to make a pun with byte/bite relating to nibble? Because that's actually where the term nibble (referring to 4 bits) comes from, so I'm not sure such a pun even counts as a pun anymore. Or am I misinterpreting your comment?
When did we stop spelling it "nybble"?
I was wondering this as well. Probably when a new wave of people discovered the concept in the absence of the older wave? By contrast, "byte" has been in use continuously and widely.
Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#19Re: Show HN: A nibble-oriented CPU in Verilog to build a scientific calculator
#20Very impressive, and obviously a labour of love! As a calculator and SystemVerilog enthusiast, it's wonderful to see a project such as this come to fruition - congratulations!
I'm holding in my hand a 4-bit Von Neumann Mostek MK50310N that my father and I used to use to build calculators long ago. Although Mostek made chips for HP (such as the HP-35), they weren't commercially available, but the 50310 was. We could only dream of a project such as yours. I was happy when the "open source" NumWorks was released, but this project aligns more with my interests.
Will definitely install the Qt simulator - would be even better to build one IRL!