Comment Re:Should we trust space flights to open source? (Score 1) 94
Please understand that LEON is developed to solve the specific problems of producing processors for space applications - it is NOT targetted for any commercial product. ESA has provided a simplified version the model under LGPL to increase the user base and hopefully find any remaing bugs.
I agree that space hardware is rigorously tested before being used, but after having designed space computers for more than 15 years, I have not yet seen a processor that does not have a list of (known) bugs. The bugs are usually handled by software patches, which is perfectly normal also for ground use. Just take a look at the errata list of current Intel processors!
Also, LEON does not in any way compare to modern processors such as PIII, K7 or PPC. LEON targets embedded applications and SOC systems where 20 MIPS usually is enough. Our current (0.35 um) demonstrator provides 50 MIPS, and the first product will reach 100 MIPS. This is enough for us but not very useful for workstation applications.
Oh yeah, and the slashdotting of my website has just blown my web-hosting bandwidth limit for this month (1.5 Gbyte) ... :-)
Jiri Gaisler
Gaisler Research
I agree that space hardware is rigorously tested before being used, but after having designed space computers for more than 15 years, I have not yet seen a processor that does not have a list of (known) bugs. The bugs are usually handled by software patches, which is perfectly normal also for ground use. Just take a look at the errata list of current Intel processors!
Also, LEON does not in any way compare to modern processors such as PIII, K7 or PPC. LEON targets embedded applications and SOC systems where 20 MIPS usually is enough. Our current (0.35 um) demonstrator provides 50 MIPS, and the first product will reach 100 MIPS. This is enough for us but not very useful for workstation applications.
Oh yeah, and the slashdotting of my website has just blown my web-hosting bandwidth limit for this month (1.5 Gbyte)
Jiri Gaisler
Gaisler Research
