Microcode is also alive and well, and not just the Amd 29xx bit slice paradigm. How else
would you control (SIMD) mills implemented in FPGA fabric : VLIW. etc etc
Martin
-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Katz via cctalk [mailto:cctalk@classiccmp.org]
Sent: 17 June 2026 01:54
To: Ken Seefried via cctalk <cctalk(a)classiccmp.org>
Cc: Mike Katz <bitwiz(a)12bitsbest.com>
Subject: [cctalk] Re: "It's dead, Jim" Was: Re: Intel 3086
Someone said assembler was dead, I have to disagree. I still program in 6809, 68000, ARM,
HP-41 and HP71 assembler from time to time. I've used ARM assembler in my work
recently.
On 6/16/2026 8:39 PM, Ken Seefried via cctalk wrote:
COBOL...great call. COBOL is dead but it won't
lie down, except for
the vast quanties of COBOL still being developed and deployed that you
don't hear about because those guys aren't hanging out on social media
posting their latest vibecoded trivia. We're on the...what...30th
iteration since the late 80s of "we have the magic beans that will
translate your COBOL code into <new hot language du jour> so your
business logic will totally without fail port over (pinky swear) and
you don't have to pay for those smelly old mainframe coders but only
fresh young (cheap) newbies". How'd that work out the previous 29
times; I'm sure rubbing AI on it will work this time.
I have had depressingly many conversations (including people who
should know better) where the other side absolutely refused to believe
that IBM still makes (lots) of money on mainframes (you can google
it...there are SEC filings), much less that the financial I worked for
was spending high-9-figures on our mainframe install (in 2026). Some
people think StackOverflow, Twitter and HN and the rest are the only
true source of truth and if the echo chamber says it, it has to be true.
These are the same people who think the US$25B ARM market has
decisively destroyed the US$100-125B+ x86 market (amount depending on
source), which is without a doubt dead/zombie, no question, who do it
with a straight face and no sense of shame.
Like I said...trolls and children (actual age irrelevant).