>Processor design pitfalls - Designing a high-level ISA to support a specific language of language domain
Is there an equivalent pitfall in designing the ISA to support a specific Virtual Machine?
For example, wouldn't the performance of a server processor when running the Java Virtual Machine be a key factor in determining its commercial success? I've always wondered whether the failure of Itanium wasn't at least partly caused by the shift from binary executables to bytecode with the contemporary success of the Java language. Even when JIT compilers were used, they were probably too simple to take advantage of the VLIW architecture.
I don't feel that's the core reason but you do bring up a good point; some technologies are too good for their time and get swept in the history books due to nobody having a clue how to utilise them properly.
Not sure if that's the exact case for Itanium but your argument fired a neuron. :)
Is there an equivalent pitfall in designing the ISA to support a specific Virtual Machine?
For example, wouldn't the performance of a server processor when running the Java Virtual Machine be a key factor in determining its commercial success? I've always wondered whether the failure of Itanium wasn't at least partly caused by the shift from binary executables to bytecode with the contemporary success of the Java language. Even when JIT compilers were used, they were probably too simple to take advantage of the VLIW architecture.