So what exactly does OpenPOWER grant me? If I create a CPU core design that implements the same ISA as, say, the PowerPC G5 chip used in Macs from 2002-2012, can I sell it? Or can I open-source it? Or is OpenPOWER incompatible with the PowerPC line?
What exactly is the selling point of the Power ISA? Why would I want to use it over RISC-V?
The community behind POWER has long been overtaken by RISC-V.
This can easily be seen reflected in Debian (largest distribution by package collection), where RISC-V has recently overtaken[0] ppc64 as the third largest ISA in available software.
The expectation is that RISC-V will continue to climb and eventually overtake ARM and x86.
RISC-V is inevitable.
Why the focus on Risc-V when the Power architecture already has high-performance cores? Genuine questions.
>"By open sourcing and developing on the POWER ISA - one of the most sophisticated processor architectures available - the OpenPOWER Foundation is democratizing access and extending the reach of the RISC-based architecture.'
Open for All
With more than 350 members collaborating regularly, the entire semiconductor industry - from global organizations with deep expertise to individual creators with a new lens - can innovate with choice and build and develop across the full Hardware and Software stack."
Related:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_ISA
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power10
https://www.itjungle.com/2024/12/02/power11-takes-memory-ban...
According to Raptor the newest generation of POWER chips contain a big binary proprietary blob.
Would these pose a problem for the this foundation?