CISCtyyppisten
CISCtyyppisten is a term used to describe computer systems and processors that are designed around complex instruction set computing (CISC) principles. In a CISC design, the instruction set comprises a large repertoire of instructions, often with multiple addressing modes and variable-length encodings, intended to perform more work per instruction. This can reduce the number of instructions required per program and can simplify compiler design or improve code density in certain workloads. Implementation may rely on microcode or sophisticated hardware decoders that translate complex instructions into sequences of simpler micro-operations.
Key characteristics include a broad instruction set, variable-length instructions, many addressing modes, and a tendency toward
Historical context: CISC emerged in the 1960s with architectures such as IBM System/360 and DEC VAX, and
Contemporary view: The distinction between CISC and RISC is about the ISA rather than the CPU implementation.