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Before there was a mainstream open standard Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) like RISC-V, a computer processor’s software/hardware interface was generally defined by processor architects. The decisions of the instructions set, multi-issue, out-of-order, speculation, branch prediction or multi-core were to accelerate general purpose or a class, such as Digital Signal Processing (DSP), of computing. The optimal solutions required a deep understanding of the processor’s micro-architecture to maximize frequency, Instructions Per Cycle, and minimize data, control, and structural hazards.

These decisions combined with improvements in semiconductor processing have given us the processor revolution of the last thirty to forty years. As Denard Scaling and Moore’s Law broke down, to continue to realize computational improvements to solve tomorrow’s challenges, a new paradigm from processor architect to software engineer is required.

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