[rescue] The aesthetics of rescue

[Dave McGuire]

On Wednesday, October 2, 2002, at 02:00 PM, Scott Newell wrote:
> I've read the some of the VAX or PDP machines also had user modifiable
> microcode.  Did anyone ever use it (custom microcode) for anything?

   WCS...Writable Control Store.  There were WCS options for many of the 
PDP-11s and some of the VAX family.  DEC sold big development kits 
(specific to each processor of course) to facilitate WCS hacking.

   I've never used it, nor do I know anyone who has.

> Is the (PALcode?) for Alpha similar to writable control store?  Again, 
> does
> anyone ever modify it?

   PALcode (Privileged Architecture Library code) is the same idea.  I 
don't know of any user-written PALcode, but that certainly doesn't mean 
there isn't any.

       -Dave

--
Dave McGuire          "PC users only know two 'solutions'...
St. Petersburg, FL       reboot and upgrade."    -Jonathan Patschke