However, IBM uses microcode to limit code execution to Java and XML workloads only.

As transistors became cheaper, horizontal microcode came to dominate the design of CPUs using microcode, with vertical microcode no longer being used.

A CPU that uses microcode generally takes several clock cycles to execute a single instruction, one clock cycle for each step in the microprogram for that instruction.

The PIC used simple microcode stored in ROM to perform its tasks, and although the term was not used at the time, it shares some common features with RISC designs.

Many modern processors use microcode for some of the commands.

Another option was the 2/60 which used different microcode on the half card to support an enhanced instruction set used uniquely by Computer Automation's SyFa (System For access) data processing systems.

In 1972, Shustek proposed using microcode for evaluating the performance of computer systems.

And as a consequence, the savings are dramatic, such that virtually all systems today have used microcode in order to get the job done.

The MicroEngine chipset was based on the MCP-1600 chipset which formed the basis of the DEC LSI-11 low-end minicomputer and the WD16 processor used by AlphaMicro (each using different microcode).

Other commercial machines that used writable microcode include early Xerox workstations, the DEC VAX 8800 ("Nautilus") family, and the Symbolics L- and G-machines.