[ On Friday, January 9, 2004 at 00:31:09 (-0500), der Mouse wrote: ]
> Subject: Machine-language reference sought
>
> I'm looking for some kind of reference for the Alpha machine language.
> So far everything I've found either has been seriously incomplete (eg,
> stuff intended for introductory courses) or has described an assembly
> language rather than a machine language (eg, the "Digital UNIX Assembly
> Language Programmer's Guide", which describes a lot of `instructions'
> that are actually assembler pseudo-ops generating multiple
> instructions).

How about the "Alpha Architecture Reference Manual" and the "Alpha
Architecture Handbook"?  Together they should give you all the details
you could possibly want, unless you're interested in some particular
chip, in which case you'll want the Hardware Reference Manual for the
chip as well (and maybe its datasheet too).

PDFs (yeah, I know -- use gv to read them :-) for all the latest
versions are available here:

   http://ftp.digital.com/pub/Digital/info/semiconductor/literature/dsc-library.html

(scroll down to "Alpha Architecture" for the first one)

See also this site:

   ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/software/alpha-tools/documentation/current/

I first found the AARM at the FTP URL above in the 21364 sub-directory
as "arm_4e.pdf" along with the compiler writer's guide for the latest
chips, though the document itself reveals this alternate URL:

	ftp://ftp.compaq.com/pub/products/alphaCPUdocs/

Originally the AARM was an internal-only document (and presumably
distributed in printed form).  For the latest chips it seems the new
public AARM has entirely replaced the AAHB and now goes along with the
chip specific hardware reference manual and the compiler writer's guide.

Get them while they are still there -- these sites might disappear in
Februrary when other Compaq web sites are scheduled to "retire".

There are some copies of some of those documents and some more related
files and editions here too of course:

    ftp://ftp.netbsd.org/pub/NetBSD/misc/dec-docs/index.html

:-)

-- 
						Greg A. Woods

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