"What do you all think?" Huang He, who had rushed over, asked after finishing the exam paper in his hand, turning to Ni Guangnan and other elites from the chip industry who had also rushed over from Cao County.
"I believe this method is feasible!" Ni Guangnan spoke first, affirming it, but then he quickly shook his head and said, "However, this answer has no practical possibility of execution. A base-5 system means we have to start from scratch to plan the entire computer equipment. All the components needed for a computer must be redesigned. This is equivalent to us starting from 1960 and rebuilding the entire world's computer system single-handedly. All the program software in the world currently cannot match our computers and chips. It's like we've arrived in a country where no one wears shoes, and we want to sell our shoes to everyone. It's completely impossible to achieve."
"Indeed, this lacks the possibility of execution."
"I greatly admire this young man's idea. I believe we should give him an opportunity to join our research project. He will surely shine in the future, but this answer, I think, is unnecessary!"
"These experts offered their opinions one after another, and the results were all the same: they unanimously believed that the answerer had a promising future, but the answer itself was not feasible!"
"Gentlemen!" Huang He began, "I don't want to know if this answer is practically executable, nor do I want to know how difficult it is. I only want to know if this answer can solve our problem? Can it make Jin Jing a chip that can truly perform calculations?"
Facing this question, many present fell silent. Their gazes turned to Ni Guangnan. Ni Guangnan answered very directly, "Yes, I repeatedly calculated this architecture on the plane ride here. The entire architecture is completely executable, and even due to its nested structure, it doesn't require any disruption to the semiconductor connections."
"Therefore, the architecture itself becomes extremely simple. I can even complete the architectural design of the entire chip in just three months. Then, all that's needed is the corresponding packaging, and a chip with astonishing computational power can be born."
"But a chip obtained this way would be a base-5 computing chip, and all programming languages in the world execute based on a binary foundation. Even if this chip is born, it will have no practical value unless we can persuade all software developers worldwide to use a completely new base-5 programming language to recompile all programs and products."
"Not only that, but we also need to have all university experts update their textbooks, add new educational majors, and then cultivate programmers proficient in base-5 programming languages in large numbers. Otherwise, this is just a chip that appears to have astonishing computing power but is actually unusable on any computer."
"Is that certain? Is there no other way around it?" Huang He couldn't help but ask.
"No!"
"Then, can we design a conversion program that can automatically convert binary programs into base-5 programs? Or, we could simply design a binary simulator on our base-5 computer and use the base-5 computer to simulate the operation of a binary computer!" Huang He proposed a startling idea.
"What!" All the experts present were shocked, and Huang He continued, "It's like this: I know that almost all computers in the world use the Windows system. But actually, there are other operating systems, like the Linux system, which is very popular on some forums now."
"However, this system faces the same dilemma as our base-5 computer: almost all computer programs are developed based on the Windows system, and Linux cannot run these programs."
"So, a genius designed a program called a Windows system simulator on the Linux system, which can simulate a Windows system on top of Linux. Then, by using this simulated Windows system, other Windows programs can be run. This perfectly solves the problem of Linux being unable to run most computer programs. This laid a solid foundation for the development of the Linux system."
"Then, can we apply the same idea to our base-5 computer? When designing the chip, we create a low-level logic, a low-level binary simulator, to simulate a base-5 computer as a binary computer, and then install the Windows system on top of that, and then run various common computer programs!"
"I think this should solve the practical problem of the base-5 computer!" Huang He spoke eloquently, clearly having prepared thoroughly and seemingly having made up his mind.
"No, absolutely not!" Ni Guangnan became anxious upon hearing this and stood up to object, "Boss, let's not even mention whether your plan to simulate a binary computer using a base-5 simulator is feasible or if we can even create such a simulator. Even if it is, it would undoubtedly be a huge waste of computational power."
"You know about simulating Windows on Linux, but you don't know how terrible the Windows system simulator is to use. Because you have to run the simulation system first, and then use the simulation system to run programs, a large portion of the system's resources will be occupied, and the program execution speed will be far inferior to a normal Windows system."
"Moreover, the crash frequency of this Windows simulator is also astonishingly high, crashing two to three times per hour. Once it crashes, all work done using the Windows simulator will be instantly interrupted, leading to massive data loss. In severe cases, it could even damage the computer hardware, causing irreparable harm."
"So, although there is such a Windows simulator on Linux, very few people actually use the Windows simulator for daily work. They might use it temporarily to solve minor issues. Currently, the development of the Linux system is mainly focused on expanding more applications for the system, not on creating simulators."
"The same applies to our computer. Simulating binary computer calculations with a base-5 computer will itself consume a large amount of the computer's computational power. At that point, the chip's computing power might not even be as good as ordinary chips."
"Secondly, once an error occurs during the simulation, causing the simulated binary computer to crash, the data loss would be terrifying. Also, a crash at the chip level simulation would impose an enormous load on the entire hardware, very possibly directly burning out the hardware. That wouldn't be a problem that could be solved by restarting a program or reinstalling the system. In the future, just facing customer claims would be enough to bankrupt us."
"Finally, and most ridiculously, if we manufacture a base-5 computer, but its core purpose is to simulate a binary computer, wouldn't that be more shameful than selling dog meat under the guise of sheep's head? Why not just buy a stable binary computer?"
"So, boss, you absolutely cannot hold onto such an idea, otherwise, it would be the most ridiculous computer in the world, and our Jiangnan Group would become a laughingstock for eternity!" Ni Guangnan said with great distress, afraid that Huang He would actually do something so crazy.
"Is that so?" Boss Huang's expression was somewhat displeased. His idea of converting the base-5 computer to a binary computer was inspired by a novel called "Noodle Rich Man" from his previous life.
At that time, the protagonist of that novel developed a brand new Harmony OS and then created an official Windows simulator on the Hongtu system, which immediately solved the problem of the Harmony OS lacking a large number of program applications, laying a solid foundation for defeating the Windows system in the future.
Boss Huang originally thought he could do the same, but after Ni Guangnan's explanation, Huang He realized how ridiculous this idea was.
"As expected, novels are all lies, especially urban business novels. They are all wishful thinking and nonsense. Nothing in the world is that simple!" Huang He cursed the author who wrote for the noodle guardian in his heart, and then fell into a state of hesitation.
The reason he had the idea of creating a base-5 computer was that he believed he possessed the trump card of converting base-5 to binary, and then he could use the superior computing power of base-5 computer chips to seize the entire market, ultimately completing the counterattack of base-5 against binary.
And in this way, the future of computer chips worldwide would be controlled by Jiangnan Group, which was an incredibly exciting and impressive prospect.
However, this idea was shattered by Ni Guangnan, and Huang He lost his confidence, becoming hesitant.
The people present also sensed Boss Huang's hesitation and change in attitude. They all stood up and offered advice, successfully swaying Huang He's thoughts little by little. Just as Huang He was about to announce that he would abandon the base-5 computer architecture and continue to offer a reward for a new feasible architecture, someone suddenly raised their hand timidly and said, "Boss, I have an idea!"
"Speak!" Huang He looked over curiously and saw that the person who raised their hand was Liu Nian.
Originally, Liu Nian did not need to be present here, as he was not an expert in chip architecture and manufacturing processes. He was more involved in the design and layout of various products.
Simply put, if you gave him a complete set of various electronic components, he could assemble these components into a very powerful device, and it would work perfectly.
But if you asked him to design an electronic component himself, that would be torturing him, as he was not skilled in that.
Therefore, Liu Nian was not originally invited to this review, but he happened to come to report to Huang He, so he was brought along by Huang He to attend this review meeting.