On Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:21:07 -0800 (PST), MooseFET
Then there is also the base register prefixes, with up to 3 prefixes
possible. Nor were the address/register/mode bitfield positions and
widths 100% consistent, they could even appear in different octets
(bytes).
Lets also not forget the REP prefixes. They are a strange duck in
that they work a lot like a decrement and conditional jump was added
after the string instruction.
[...]
Do you also remember such things as writable control stores?
Yes.
For those who don't know, things like the IBM 360 had a control store
that had to be loaded with the micro code before the thing would have
its defined instruction set.
I am also old enough to have worked on the design of bit slice
computers, printed out my listings on a teletype, input my code on
paper tape, and write programs on punch cards that were sent away to
the computer.
[...]