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Comment by sagargv | Hacker News Reader

Does the ISA matter a lot these days? If we look at the mobile world, specifically Android, most programs are written in Java. So, as long as the compiler, the OS, and the JVM are ported to a new ISA, most apps will run happily.

Also, is binary ISA translation restricted by patents?

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That's true in theory. In practice, a not insignificant number of popular Android apps (mostly, but not limited to, games) are written in non-Java languages. That limits those apps to ARM unless the developers bother to provide versions for other ISAs, which practically nobody does.

Not as much as it used to but getting a next-generation device off the ground involves a lot of custom low-level code that's very specific to instruction set and architecture. If you're just doing a me-too product you almost don't need to worry about anything above the OS level.

> Also, is binary ISA translation restricted by patents?

Intel has binary translation software to run ARM apps on x86 phones, so I'd guess it's not limited by patents.

I'd say the ISA still matters. A lot of problems in the GNU/Linux space are device development, which starts with the processor. Since all these projects target ultra-mobile or notebook form factors, you need integrated SoC boards with everything ready to go custom ordered, but the mounting costs of proprietary tech like ARM adds up in part to kill such endeavors, because you need scale enough to subsidize the license costs, at the least.

It doesn't matter a lot, no. But you do have to pick one for your platform, and decide if you want to be tied to, say, Intel's specific offerings, or (in principle) anyone with an ARM license. If RISC-V gets off the ground, you'll be able to pick a completely open standard.

Most apps...? We live in different worlds, clearly! I know people use Java for boring corporate line of business apps and boring corporate web server projects, but none of the apps I actually care about are written in Java, and I see no trends suggesting that this will ever change.

What Android apps do you use that rely on native code?

All the ones that I'm aware of are either games or half-arsed ports of iOS apps.

I don't really use Android apps. But now I see that I misread your comment, and thus my reply was irrelevant.

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