Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!sundc!netxcom!hadron!jsdy From: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao) Newsgroups: comp.lang.c Subject: Re: bit patterns of all ones Message-ID: <408@hadron.UUCP> Date: Fri, 2-Jan-87 08:00:46 EST Article-I.D.: hadron.408 Posted: Fri Jan 2 08:00:46 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 2-Jan-87 21:00:03 EST References: <1382@hoptoad.uucp> <690001@hplsla.HP.COM> <1527@hoptoad.uucp> <595@mrstve.UUCP> <406@hadron.UUCP> Reply-To: jsdy@hadron.UUCP (Joseph S. D. Yao) Organization: Hadron, Inc., Fairfax, VA Lines: 14 Summary: 2^n-1 is (not always) all ones. Forgot to mention why "usually" all ones. On a ternary machine (what???) which some "solder-crazed EE" (was it?) might construct, 2^n-1 will of course be some mix of 0's, 1's, and 2's (or -1's?). Of course, lots of other things would break, too. Divides by shifting, and even the meaning (to most folk) of shifting. Of course, that will never happen. We will always have our binary, transistorised, 16- and 18-bit Neumann minicomputers. ;-}? -- Joe Yao hadron!jsdy@seismo.{CSS.GOV,ARPA,UUCP} jsdy@hadron.COM (not yet domainised)