RISC-V (pronounced risk five), is a Free open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). Other well established ISA like x86, amd64 (Intel and AMD) and ARM, are proprietary and therefore, one must pay every expensive licenses to design and build a processor using these architectures. You don’t need to pay a license to build a RISC-V processor, you only need to follow the specifications. That doesn’t mean the CPU design is also free, no, they stay very much the closed property of the designer, but RISC-V represents non the less, a very big step towards more transparency and technology freedom.
I know there are already a number of extensions specified in the specifications, such that Risc-V could be relevant to design the simplest of microcontroller up to the most powerful super computer. I suppose it is possible and allowed to design a CPU with proprietary extensions. What should prevent an ARM type of situation is the fact that so many use-cases are already covered by the open specifications. What is not there yet, to my knowledge, are things like graphics, video, neural-net acceleration.
The instruction set is a tiny part of the overall CPU architecture. You don’t need to lock it as everything else is proprietary: manufacturing, cores, electric design, etc. Most RISC-V processors today use ARM cores and are subject to ARM licensing.
RISC-V (pronounced risk five), is a Free open-source Instruction Set Architecture (ISA). Other well established ISA like x86, amd64 (Intel and AMD) and ARM, are proprietary and therefore, one must pay every expensive licenses to design and build a processor using these architectures. You don’t need to pay a license to build a RISC-V processor, you only need to follow the specifications. That doesn’t mean the CPU design is also free, no, they stay very much the closed property of the designer, but RISC-V represents non the less, a very big step towards more transparency and technology freedom.
Isn’t it possible to add custom instructions and locking others from them, leading back to the current ARM situation?
I know there are already a number of extensions specified in the specifications, such that Risc-V could be relevant to design the simplest of microcontroller up to the most powerful super computer. I suppose it is possible and allowed to design a CPU with proprietary extensions. What should prevent an ARM type of situation is the fact that so many use-cases are already covered by the open specifications. What is not there yet, to my knowledge, are things like graphics, video, neural-net acceleration.
The instruction set is a tiny part of the overall CPU architecture. You don’t need to lock it as everything else is proprietary: manufacturing, cores, electric design, etc. Most RISC-V processors today use ARM cores and are subject to ARM licensing.
I pity the five year old who has to read this.
I’m a grown up though so thank you for the explanation.
Yes, I admit it’s still a pretty complex explanation. I gave it my best shot :)
Costs less
terrible chat GPT ass explanation, sorry.