Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!ut-sally!husc6!think!ames!ptsfa!ihnp4!cuae2!killer!academ!uhnix1!sugar!peter From: peter@sugar.UUCP (Peter da Silva) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Why make up names (was Re: Size of SysV "block" (really: byte != 8 bits)) Message-ID: <421@sugar.UUCP> Date: Wed, 22-Jul-87 08:55:30 EDT Article-I.D.: sugar.421 Posted: Wed Jul 22 08:55:30 1987 Date-Received: Sun, 26-Jul-87 21:11:20 EDT References: <218@astra.necisa.oz> <142700010@tiger.UUCP> <2792@phri.UUCP> <9814@bu-cs.BU.EDU> Organization: Sugar Land UNIX - Houston, TX Lines: 17 Summary: I call it a 24-bit word, myself. >Has anyone seen a good name used for three 8-bit bytes? I've been using >"tri-byte", but could see it being shortened to "trite" or "tryte." Or "three 8-bit bytes" (why do you say 8-bit bytes, if you want to use more specific names?). If you really want a name for it, how about a "Version 7 disk block pointer"? I tend to use "bit", "nybble" (or 4-bits), "byte", and "word". The length of a word is either obvious from context (you know how big the words are on the computer being used) or spelled out. 9 bit bytes are almost always quarter words on a mainframe, so just call them quarter words... like nybbles, they're not individually adressable anyway (I guess they're inalienable bytes: "we hold these bytes self-evident...". Must be checksummed.). Or else use "char", "short", "int", and "long"... -- -- Peter da Silva `-_-' ...!seismo!soma!uhnix1!sugar!peter (I said, NO PHOTOS!)