Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site uwmcsd1.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!tektronix!uw-beaver!cornell!vax135!houxm!mhuxt!mhuxr!mhuxn!ihnp4!uwmcsd1!jgd From: jgd@uwmcsd1.UUCP (John G Dobnick) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: Re: int16, int32 Message-ID: <388@uwmcsd1.UUCP> Date: Wed, 14-Aug-85 13:24:28 EDT Article-I.D.: uwmcsd1.388 Posted: Wed Aug 14 13:24:28 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 20-Aug-85 08:08:55 EDT References: <541@brl-tgr.ARPA> <1167@umcp-cs.UUCP> <384@uwmcsd1.UUCP> <391@baylor.UUCP> Organization: U of Wis - Milwaukee, Computing Services Lines: 29 > > Said machine is a Sperry 1100. > On a machine like that I would guess you would have many other portability > problems as well. How big are chars, and what character set do you use? > -- > Peter da Silva (the mad Australian) > UUCP: ...!shell!neuro1!{hyd-ptd,baylor,datafac}!peter > MCI: PDASILVA; CIS: 70216,1076 The character set is ASCII. The character size is 9 bits, packed 4 characters per word. With ASCII, this "wastes" 1 bit per character (assuming 8-bit characters). The major *problem* this causes is the following: you can not assume that two adjacent characters are equivalent to a "short" (16-bit?) integer. This is a portability problem, in that the Sperry implementation will have this "extra" bit between the characters. This is also bad programming practice. This has also bitten us in porting "VAX-ish" C code to the Sperry. End hardware exposition. -- I think koalas are *neat* animals, but they don't *do* very much! -- -- John G Dobnick Computing Services Division @ University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee (...ihnp4!uwmcsd1!jgd)