Stack Computers: the new wave

Philip J. Koopman, Jr.

The ENTIRE BOOK is available to read on-line or to download for off-line reading!

Published in 1989, this was the first book to explore the new breed of stack computers led by the introduction of the Novix NC4016 chip. The author commences with an overview of how stacks are used in computing, and a taxonomy of hardware stack support which includes a survey of approximately 70 stack machines past and present. Detailed descriptions, including block diagrams and instruction set summaries, are given for seven new stack processors from Harris Semiconductor, Novix, Johns Hopkins University/APL, MISC, WISC Technologies, and Wright State University. Major topics covered also include architectural analysis of stack machines, software issues, application areas, and potential for future development.

NOTE: this book is still protected by copyright even if you download it! You do not have the right to share this downloaded copy with anyone else -- it is for your own private use only! If someone else wants a copy, please have them download it from this site so that I can keep track of the readership volume.

Amazon: Kindle format. This is optimized for Kindle. It's a text version, not just a scan of the book. (Includes new Appendix D chip photos.)



Amazon: Used books (first listing | second listing) .pdf 300 dpi scan of book in Acrobat format. Readable but not super-sharp. (12 MB) .html Browse html Original Edition version on-line. .zip Download all the html for the book as a zip file (requires Zip version 2.5 or later). (700 KB download)

Table of Contents (permits jumping directly to any section in the book)

NEXT SECTION Begin reading the book on-line (clicking on the "Next Section" arrow on each page will take you through the entire book)

Originally published by Ellis Horwood in 1989 -- now on the World Wide Web!

© Copyright 1989, Philip Koopman, All Rights Reserved.

This web edition is essentially unchanged from the 1989 book. While some of the material is obviously dated and new work has been done in this area, I believe that the book remains the principal reference work on Forth-style stack computers. My Stack Computer web page serves as a starting point to exploring recent developments in the area.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise except as noted below, without the permission of Philip J. Koopman, Jr., Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.

This book may be freely viewed using web browsing software accessing the URL http://www.ece.cmu.edu/~koopman/stack_computers/

A floppy disk for off-line viewing is available from Mountain View Press (if that doesn't work, try their old site). They also sell a hard-copy reprint. If you are reading this book from a legally acquired floppy disk, you are granted a single concurrent reading license only ("like a book").

Please send me e-mail if you enjoyed this book (or, even if you didn't). I'd love to hear from you!

Related Information

Phil Koopman -- koopman@cmu.edu

1/19/97