Patterson and Ditzel: the case for the reduced instruction set computer

What changed

Argued that simpler instruction sets and control could improve processor performance by avoiding costs imposed by increasingly complex instruction-set designs.

Scientific scope

The record is the exact 1980 SIGARCH article and its architectural argument. The later Berkeley RISC I implementation, IBM 801, Stanford MIPS and commercial RISC processors remain separate.

Evidence

The linked sources identify this contribution and its scope. WRS has not independently reconstructed the scientific claims. The record is the exact 1980 SIGARCH article and its architectural argument. The later Berkeley RISC I implementation, IBM 801, Stanford MIPS and commercial RISC processors remain separate.

Contributors

• David A. Patterson · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.
• David R. Ditzel · SCIENCE: Named source author of the scoped work; individual effort shares are not measured.

• ACM record for the case for RISC
• Crossref record for the case for RISC

Provisional WRS assessment, edition 2026-10-16.1. Independent expert calibration is pending. This grade does not certify correctness or assign ownership.

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