SAM-I: a prototype machine for dynamic, array-oriented programming languages

Describes a distributed-function machine prototype for the indirect interpretation of array-oriented high-level language programs. The architecture was derived through simulation studies, seeded by Flynn and Hoevel´s work with directly executable language techniques, and by Johnston´s contour model. The SAM-I prototype demonstrates that the interpretation overhead of array-oriented high-level languages with dynamically typed data can be dramatically reduced. The prototype is based on a personal computer augmented by a custom chip set embedded processor. A number of novel VLSI systems concepts are described.