StrongARM


StrongARM

(processor)A collaborative project between Digital Equipment Corporation and Advanced RISC Machines Ltd. (ARM) announcedon 1995-02-06 licensing the ARM RISC architecture toDigital Semiconductor for the development ofhigh-performance, low power microprocessors.

The StrongARM family of 32-bit RISC products developed underthe agreement are faster versions of the existing ARMprocessors with a somewhat different instruction set. Theyare targetted at applications such as next-generationpersonal digital assistants with improved user interfacesand communications; interactive television and set-topproducts; video games and multimedia edutainment systemswith realistic imaging, motion and sound; and digital imaging,including low cost digital image capture and photo-qualityscanning and printing.

The StrongARM family has limited software compatibility withthe ARM6, ARM7 and ARM8 families due to its separatecaches for data and instructions which causesself-modifying code to fail.

The SA-110 is the first member of the family.

StrongARM

A family of high-performance RISC-based microprocessors from Intel. StrongARM chips have been used in handheld devices from PDAs to palmtops. Jointly developed by Digital Equipment Corporation and Advanced RISC Machines (ARM), Intel acquired Digital's chip manufacturing facilities in 1997 and continued making the chips to supersede its earlier i860 and i960 lines. The StrongARM technology evolved into Intel's Xscale line. See Xscale and ARM.