engineers, including ACM A.M. Turing Award laureate Fred Brooks, Jr.,
thought they could create a single ISA
that would efficiently unify all four of
these ISA bases.
They needed a technical solution
for how computers as inexpensive as
WE BEGAN OUR Turing Lecture June 4, 201811 with a review
of computer architecture since the 1960s. In addition
to that review, here, we highlight current challenges
and identify future opportunities, projecting another
golden age for the field of computer architecture in
the next decade, much like the 1980s when we did the
research that led to our award, delivering gains in cost,
energy, and security, as well as performance.
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned
to repeat it.” —George Santayana, 1905
Software talks to hardware through a vocabulary
called an instruction set architecture (ISA). By the early
1960s, IBM had four incompatible lines of computers,
each with its own ISA, software stack, I/O system,
and market niche—targeting small business, large
business, scientific, and real time, respectively. IBM
A New Golden
Age for
Computer
Architecture
DOI: 10.1145/3282307
Innovations like domain-specific hardware,
enhanced security, open instruction sets, and
agile chip development will lead the way.
BY JOHN L. HENNESSY AND DAVID A. PATTERSON
key insights
˽ Software advances can inspire
architecture innovation.
˽ Elevating the hardware/software
interface creates opportunities for
architecture innovation.
˽ The marketplace ultimately settles
architecture debates.
turing lecture