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I have read somewhere recently something related to the kind of computers.

The reading was related to Lisp and Emacs that fit into an "architectural" model more like a Turing Machine.

In the other hand it was C and the "other" architectural model was named after someone whose name I don't remember, but named as the most successful type of computer because that's what we all use nowadays ( that is cpu + ram + hd + etc etc ).

What's the name of that type of computer if it is not a turing machine ( that afaik is an abstract model rather than a physical )

Byte!

Kyle Cronin
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OscarRyz
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  • I would say this *is* a programming question. It is more relevent than all those 'what is your favorite programming cartoon' questions IMO – Nathan Feb 10 '09 at 03:16
  • It's possible that what you remember is the second paragraph of http://www.paulgraham.com/rootsoflisp.html , although it's different from what you say in the question. – ShreevatsaR Feb 10 '09 at 04:45

2 Answers2

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I think you're thinking of the Von Neumann architecture. Though most modern computers use the Von Neumann architecture, there's also the similar Harvard architecture that is still Turing-complete, but which separates the instructions being executed and the data being read and written to.

Kyle Cronin
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  • I make a living writing code for Harvard architecture 8051 based systems. The 8051s are fairly modern, they run at up to 50 mips, support branch prediction and have read-ahead RAM cache. IIRC, AVR and PICs are Harvard too. So, I'd say "Most modern computers use Von Neumann architecture" instead. – daotoad Feb 10 '09 at 03:57
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Do you mean the Von Neumann architecture?

Aram Verstegen
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