tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post4558218299828914666..comments2024-03-16T18:42:21.178-07:00Comments on DSHR's Blog: John Wharton RIPDavid.http://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-39722028777125736382023-08-09T09:14:56.145-07:002023-08-09T09:14:56.145-07:00John Wharton's gift to the world just keeps on...John Wharton's gift to the world just keeps on giving. Steven Leibson's <a href="https://www.eejournal.com/article/the-microcontroller-that-just-wont-die/" rel="nofollow"><i>The Microcontroller that Just Won’t Die</i></a> recounts its latest incarnation:<br /><br />"After its 1980 introduction, the Intel 8051 microcontroller became immensely popular, and variants have been available from one vendor or another continuously ever since. Jack Ganssle, my good friend and one-time owner of a company that offered in-circuit emulators for the 8051 said, “In 10,000 years, someone, somewhere, will still be writing 8051 code!” Today’s case in point: Taiwan microcontroller maker Nuvoton has just announced its MUG51 8-bit MCU low-power microcontroller based on the 8051 architecture. ... The MUG51 runs as fast as 7.3728 MHz and incorporates 16 Kbytes of embedded Flash application memory (AROM) for the program and data, an additional 4 Kbytes of loader Flash memory (LDROM) that holds code used for reprogramming the AROM through in-system programming, 256 bytes of directly addressable scratchpad SRAM, and 1 Kbyte of SRAM accessible using the microcontroller’s 16-bit data pointer with the MOVX instruction. The device runs on supply voltages from 5.5V all the way down to 1.8V. At full operating speed, with all peripherals enabled, the MUG51 draws around 1mA of operating current. Its four idle modes take the operating current as low as 2 to 14 μA with a 3.3V power supply and 3.4 to 24 μA with a 5.5V power supply. It’s a small device in a 32-lead QFN33 package measuring a mere 4.0 x 4.0 mm. That’s smaller than some pepper flakes I shake onto my pizza, so this microcontroller can easily fit in physically small designs such as a stylus pen.<br /><br />Even with the low-power operation and small size, the MUG51 incorporates a large number of peripherals including 24 GPIO pins, 16-bit timers, a 12-bit ADC, a 16-bit PWM, two UARTs, I2C and SPI ports, two rail-to-rail comparators, an ISO 7816-3 Smart Card interface, a watchdog timer, and a wakeup timer. The watchdog timer is useful for preventing system lockup if the software heads out into the weeds. The wakeup timer allows the microcontroller to set a wakeup time and then put itself into low-power sleep mode."David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-8250175734548739562022-06-18T22:53:51.839-07:002022-06-18T22:53:51.839-07:00Gosh, Kip - your posting has revived a very old th...Gosh, Kip - your posting has revived a very old thread. I remember you well, and we miss seeing you at AMW. I led the remembrances portion of AMW this year's workshop, which honored 7 who had passed - including Jim Warren. Brian BergUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913205811981439792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-43582297237628400672022-06-17T14:56:20.840-07:002022-06-17T14:56:20.840-07:00David, thank you for your recent efforts on behalf...David, thank you for your recent efforts on behalf of John Wharton. I attended the AMW several times during the 1980s, where I promoted an organization called the Computer History Association of California, a precursor of the Computer Museum History Center. I have many reasons to remember, not only John, but Mary Eisenhart and Tom Rolander, who command my respect and influence some of my decisions to this day. Again, thanks. Kip Crosbygrayishkittyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14118003240936630600noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-80742973343999288632019-01-04T23:44:09.356-08:002019-01-04T23:44:09.356-08:00Allison Marsh's Coded for Cuteness: How the Fu...Allison Marsh's <a href="https://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-history/silicon-revolution/coded-for-cuteness-how-the-furby-conquered-hearts-and-minds" rel="nofollow"><i>Coded for Cuteness: How the Furby Conquered Hearts and Minds</i></a> takes off from the Computer History Museum's acquisition of three Furbies and their source code. She links to Sam Battle's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYLBjScgb7o&feature=youtu.be" rel="nofollow"><i>Furby Organ</i></a>, which lets you experience the sound of 44 Furbies, about half as many as were in the box.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-77367758765519737322018-12-06T09:34:40.509-08:002018-12-06T09:34:40.509-08:00John is a named inventor on the following three US...John is a named inventor on the following three US patents:<br /><br />1) <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US6643755" rel="nofollow">6643755: Cyclically sequential memory prefetch</a>, priority date 20 Feb 2001.<br /><br />2) <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US6799264" rel="nofollow">6799264: Memory accelerator for ARM processor pre-fetching multiple instructions from cyclically sequential memory partitions</a>, priority date 20 Feb 2001.<br /><br />3) <a href="https://patents.google.com/patent/US7290119" rel="nofollow">7290119: Memory accelerator with two instruction set fetch path to prefetch second set while executing first set of number of instructions in access delay to instruction cycle ratio</a>, priority date 20 Feb 2001.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-40772174106089895612018-12-06T09:23:36.907-08:002018-12-06T09:23:36.907-08:00John's obituary has appeared in the San Jose M...John's obituary has appeared in the <a href="https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/mercurynews/obituary.aspx?n=john-wharton&pid=190907823" rel="nofollow"><i>San Jose Mercury News</i></a>.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-45003412427586930852018-12-05T19:58:17.478-08:002018-12-05T19:58:17.478-08:00John and I first met while I worked at Intel in th...John and I first met while I worked at Intel in the Southeast Region as an FAE (Field Application Engineer), or “Microprocessor Evangelist” starting in 1975. In my territory, we had a few early automotive accounts. Bendix in Newport News, VA developed an 8048-based fuel-injection system for Cadillac, and Chrysler Automotive Electronics in Huntsville, AL had developed the “lean-burn” system and was working (along with some other manufacturers) on feedback carburetors. I spent a lot of time with the Chrysler folks, and John was instrumental in working on this design, which became the basis for the paper we wrote. We worked far more closely together starting in 1978 when Intel moved me to Santa Clara to be the Manager of Automotive Applications. We developed a 16-bit enhancement to the 8051 design called the 8061 for real-time control and specifically for the Ford EEC-IV engine control system. A modified commercial version was sold as the 8096. They were the first microprocessors with high speed on-board A/D converters.<br /> <br />The car with the huge breadboard running it (that has been referred to in some posts) was actually a breadboard of the 8061, and first successfully ran a car around the Ford test track in Detroit in 1979. The system was in virtually every Ford produced from 1983 to 1994 and continued production through the ‘90s.<br /> <br />BTW – John’s reference to the calibration requirement was a very tricky engineering problem which he helped solve. The oxygen sensor was not analog – it was on/off output, and you had to intentionally go in and out of adjustment to get the sensor to fire. Compounding the challenge was the time delay for the exhaust to hit the sensor (in the tailpipe) which varied based on the RPM and other factors like temperature.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07986732553996561870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-57224025017402009962018-12-05T19:56:18.761-08:002018-12-05T19:56:18.761-08:00Searching https://patents.google.com/ to confirm B...Searching https://patents.google.com/ to confirm Brian Berg's discovery of John's three patents I found another paper John co-authored, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/0003-2697(78)90313-5" rel="nofollow"><i>A computer-controlled multichannel micropipetter</i></a> from 1978. The abstract is:<br /><br />"A multichannel micropipetter was developed capable of pipetting as little as 1 μl with a reproducibility of better than ±2% and an accuracy of ±0.5%. The micropipetter consists of a precision syringe to which 13 individually valved fluid channels are connected as a bundle of segments spreading out radially from the tip of the syringe to pinch valves and further to fluid interfaces consisting of steel tubing sections for uptake or dispensing of fluid. A stepping motor drives the piston of the measuring syringe by means of a precision screw. Motor and valves are under computer control. Low dead volume (internal volume, ca. 1 μl/channel; external volume, 0.3 μl/cm of tubing), and the absence of internal valving parts ensure low cross-conamination (ca. 0.1%). These features together with the versatility provided by the large number of independent channels and the automatic operation make the instrument suitable for pipetting multicomponent mixtures in the general biochemistry laboratory (for enzyme kinetics and complex reactions) as well as in specialized routine applications (clinical diagnostics and radioimmunoassay)."David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-57567568073952332562018-12-05T18:57:44.387-08:002018-12-05T18:57:44.387-08:00Unknown, how about identifying the paper in questi...Unknown, how about identifying the paper in question? With no identification, it might or might not be the paper I described in the previous comment. "this paper" isn't adequate.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-62767499519270391602018-12-05T16:34:40.044-08:002018-12-05T16:34:40.044-08:00John's first AMW talk was titled "Micropr...John's first AMW talk was titled "Microprocessor-Controlled Carburetion," and it was perhaps an expansion on this 1979 paper which included the sentence "Recalibrate absolute references (such as throttle reference point, closed-loop carburetor midpoint, etc.) whenever practical."Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913205811981439792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-88605191511583305812018-12-05T09:48:41.789-08:002018-12-05T09:48:41.789-08:00Here's another paper from John's pioneerin...Here's another paper from John's pioneering work in automotive control systems:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/44633923" rel="nofollow"><i>Designing Reliable Software for Automotive Applications</i></a>, Barry Yarkoni and John Wharton, SAE Transactions, Vol. 88, Section 1: 790003–790266 (1979), pp. 856-859. The abstract is:<br /><br />"The use of microcomputers in automotive applications has placed new requirements on programmers. Programmers must protect their software against flaws in the hardware system in which it is operating. Various techniques for writing "fail-safe software" have been developed, and are discussed in this paper."David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-56326139553318784632018-12-02T16:02:25.276-08:002018-12-02T16:02:25.276-08:00I distinctly remember John discussing with relish ...<i>I distinctly remember John discussing with relish how he got the opcodes for OR to the Accumulator and AND to the Accumulator to be "ORL" and "ANL"</i><br /><br />Given the preceding 8048 family already used "ORL" and "ANL" mnemonics, it is not clear how much 'effort' would have been required, if any at all ?PCBusrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16694311381065882583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-38845512271766723092018-12-02T11:16:57.766-08:002018-12-02T11:16:57.766-08:00That is priceless re: those opcodes. That is certa...That is priceless re: those opcodes. That is certainly consistent with his "The Z-8 sucks eggs" portion of the comments that appear in his example code in the Intel 1983 Microcontroller Handbook. (See the posting within the blog for this.)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913205811981439792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-50221346774224085132018-11-30T17:50:14.667-08:002018-11-30T17:50:14.667-08:00I distinctly remember John discussing with relish ...I distinctly remember John discussing with relish how he got the opcodes for OR to the Accumulator and AND to the Accumulator to be "ORL" and "ANL"George Leroy Tyrebyterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05409725708458671601noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-82008226758890596662018-11-30T11:29:23.131-08:002018-11-30T11:29:23.131-08:00In 1998 John wrote:
"Since its 1980 introduc...<a href="https://web.stanford.edu/class/ee380/9798sum/lect05.html" rel="nofollow">In 1998 John wrote</a>:<br /><br />"Since its 1980 introduction, the 8051 and its derivatives have shipped about two billion units world-wide (according to DataQuest), and the production rate keeps growing, with nearly 300 million units shipped in 1996 alone."<br /><br />I haven't found a citation for John's 1E10 claim ten years ago, but I remember him saying that.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-30508721059169116422018-11-30T09:12:22.431-08:002018-11-30T09:12:22.431-08:00Expert opinion is that "rumored that inside e...Expert opinion is that "rumored that inside every x86 is an 8051 that does initial chip configuration." is false.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-82672766053182580812018-11-29T21:04:53.549-08:002018-11-29T21:04:53.549-08:00- Many other companies manufacture 8051s.
Indeed, ...- Many other companies manufacture 8051s.<br />Indeed, and included in that list is Zilog, who offer Z51F flash MCUs<br /><br />The 8051 is undergoing something of a resurgence in Asia, with many offerings from China/Korea/Taiwan, and at prices/sizes intel could never have imagined....<br />I have seen part codes for SOT23-6 8051 variants, tho actual physical parts seem elusive.<br /><br />The newest STC STC8F/8A/8H series are an example of not just clones, but of engineering enhancements too. <br />These parts use a wide opcode fetch & decode, to result in cycle times intel could never have imagined.<br /><br />Not quite your grandfather's 8051, but they still talk the same language.PCBusrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16694311381065882583noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-65368516568371839612018-11-29T11:06:13.895-08:002018-11-29T11:06:13.895-08:00The question of how many 8051s have been made is i...The question of how many 8051s have been made is interesting. Among the observations:<br /><br />- While the 8051 itself is <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_MCS-51" rel="nofollow">no longer an Intel product</a>, it is rumored that inside every x86 is an 8051 that does initial chip configuration.<br /><br />- John estimated a decade ago that 1E10 had been made.<br /><br />- Many <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intel_MCS-51#MCUs_based_on_8051" rel="nofollow">other companies manufacture 8051s</a>.<br /><br />- 8051s are embedded in many very high-volume products, for example <a href="https://bunniefoo.com/bunnie/sdcard-30c3-pub.pdf" rel="nofollow">flash cards</a>.<br /><br />Comments with more information on this topic would be welcome.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-61593545053997492872018-11-25T20:34:35.231-08:002018-11-25T20:34:35.231-08:00I knew John only from our annual meetings at Asilo...I knew John only from our annual meetings at Asilomar. Like many AMW graybeards, John never disappointed with an amazing story that I would be hearing for the first time.<br /><br />His dedication to assisting a mutual friend during her rehabilitation from a stroke was yet another example of his many virtues. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10833662751689238358noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-36723270302988122982018-11-25T19:58:59.496-08:002018-11-25T19:58:59.496-08:00Thanks to Mark Dahmke for the CC-licensed head &am...Thanks to Mark Dahmke for the <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:John_Harrison_Wharton.jpg" rel="nofollow">CC-licensed head & shoulders of John</a>, which replaced the group shot and now also graces the infobox of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draft:John_H._Wharton" rel="nofollow">John's draft Wikipedia page</a>.David.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14498131502038331594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-26828397126494060642018-11-24T00:48:58.075-08:002018-11-24T00:48:58.075-08:00I was with John in the audience that night when La...I was with John in the audience that night when Late Night with David Letterman was taped in San Francisco. The whole story is extra-rich with nuance, texture, and details, but my one-line summary captures some of John's finer essences: He's the only guy I've ever known who could pay $250--when (1996) that was a tidy sum--for a free ticket--he bought a pair of tickets for us from a Craigslist ad--and *profit* from the deal. You see, as The Shower Guy, John did enough on-camera "work" to earn a union scale paycheck for the effort. I can't remember the amount precisely, but the check was for over $600. And he got a plush bath robe (presumably Letterman's or a duplicate), two towels, I believe a wash cloth, some flip-flops, and he pilfered a show script on his way out.<br /><br />John most definitely engineered himself to maximize the probability that Letterman would notice and talk to him, but providence played a part as well. As we were being seated, almost all of the first rows in the center section were filled, and if we had dutifully followed the line of people, we would have been seated way in the back of the stage-left section, an area that would be far from Letterman and very much in the dark during the show.<br /><br />There were, however, two single seats on the isle in rows two and three; I realized it was imperative that John take one of those seats, so I asked the usher if we could sit there. He shrugged his shoulders, looked at John for a moment (I realized this later), and said "sure." In life, sometimes you have to work hard to get lucky.<br /><br />We would not sit together, which made me unhappy because John and I would not be able to commiserate during the show (we were both big Letterman fans). As it turned out, it didn't matter: John was backstage after Letterman's monologue anyway. :)<br /><br />John never lost the best parts of childish curiosity and had a sense of polite mischief all his own. Once, after an evening meal at The Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop, he asked the attendees, "Can I have a show of hands please. Who had the chicken? Okay, who had the beef? And, finally, who had the pork? Okay, thanks." Of course, about a third of the group responded to each choice despite the fact that we all had the same meal. After about ten seconds, the group understood the it had been duped and the point of the prank.<br /><br />I saw him a few weeks and spoke to him a couple of days before his passing, and even in his final days, he continued to find humor in and express amazement at the ways of the world. I worked closely with John off and on for over ten years, and I feel fortunate to have experienced and benefitted from his unique, special, and gentle genius.<br />bwcasehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08565776652679374047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4503292949532760618.post-74251848606129476332018-11-20T18:37:40.604-08:002018-11-20T18:37:40.604-08:00David,
Thanks for this tribute. John was a most i...David,<br /><br />Thanks for this tribute. John was a most interesting character who has affected many people's lives in various ways. Thank you for honoring his life in this way!<br /><br />I am happy that John's description of Gary Kildall's contributions to the world are beautifully memorialized in the video <a href="https://youtu.be/HO6IPpL0y8g?t=3977" rel="nofollow">here</a> - this was part of the CP/M IEEE Milestone dedication in 2014, which followed the Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop that year. I feel that it shows John at his best, as a teacher - and amazingly he had not planned what he was going to say until shortly before I introduced him!<br /><br />Brian Berg, Asilomar Microcomputer Workshop Committee member, 1989-present (and General Chair: 1998-2000)Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06913205811981439792noreply@blogger.com