On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 12:49:26 -0500, Tom Marchant <[email protected]> wrote:
>On Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:36:42 -0500, John McKown wrote: > >>I'm a bit curious. If I understand what is being done, it is similar to a >>Java JVM. The z/VOS reads and interprets the x86 arch instructions, with >>some JIT on the side. However, other companies, such as AMD, need cross >>licensing to create chips which run x86. > >Do they? I am certain that AMD and Via have cross licensing agreements with Intel. I know because Intel has recently indicated that AMD is violating that agreement. http://www.amd.com/us-en/Weblets/0,,7832_12670_12686,00.html > >>That "cross licensing" is part of >>IBM's complaint against PSI. PSI was not licensed to create a zArchitecture >>emulator. > >I thought that the problem with PSI (and Hercules, for that matter) was not >about the emulation of the hardware, but the licensing of z/OS. Hum, parts of z/Architecture are patented. Not the hardware to perform the function, but the actual function itself - indepandant of the implementation. Neither Hercules/390 nor PSI had a license for those parts of the z/Architecture, even though they implemented them (not totally sure about Hercules/390 on this point). Also, as I remember (Danger, Will Robinson!), part of IBM's argument was that PSI's implementation of the z/Architecture was not verified by IBM. IBM said that in that case, the use of licensed IBM software (z/OS et al.) could not be guaranteed. However, much of IBM's "premium" for their software was due to IBM's guarantees on the reliability of the software. If the hardware was "not up to snuff", then IBM might suffer damage to its reputation for reliability if the software (z/OS) were to fail. This was the "logic" as to why IBM refused to license z/OS et al. on the PSI solution. > >-- >Tom Marchant -- John ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to [email protected] with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
