wheel of reincarnation

1 definition found

wheel of reincarnation - Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003) :

  wheel of reincarnation
  
  
     [coined in a paper by T.H. Myer and I.E. Sutherland On the Design of
     Display Processors, Comm. ACM, Vol. 11, no. 6, June 1968)] Term used
     to refer to a well-known effect whereby function in a computing
  system
     family is migrated out to special-purpose peripheral hardware for
     speed, then the peripheral evolves toward more computing power as it
     does its job, then somebody notices that it is inefficient to support
     two asymmetrical processors in the architecture and folds the
  function
     back into the main CPU, at which point the cycle begins again.
  
     Several iterations of this cycle have been observed in
     graphics-processor design, and at least one or two in communications
     and floating-point processors. Also known as the Wheel of Life, the
     Wheel of Samsara, and other variations of the basic Hindu/Buddhist
     theological idea. See also blitter.