The thing that has always impressed me about the ARM1 is that they didn't just take the RISC model from the papers they read: they adapted it to suit their own needs. Adding the barrel shifter, conditional execution, removing features that made the design more complex, and squeezing it into a gate count that meant that they could produce it at an acceptable cost.
As Wilson said later - "MIPS for the masses" - and not for workstations.
It wasn't just a technical achievement it was a commercial achievement too - although Acorn failed to make use of it of course.
As Wilson said later - "MIPS for the masses" - and not for workstations.
It wasn't just a technical achievement it was a commercial achievement too - although Acorn failed to make use of it of course.