Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!seismo!uwvax!oddjob!gargoyle!ihnp4!ihlpg!ejbjr From: ejbjr@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Branagan) Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards,comp.arch Subject: Re: *Why* do modern machines mostly have 8-bit bytes? Message-ID: <3532@ihlpg.ATT.COM> Date: Mon, 27-Jul-87 15:35:14 EDT Article-I.D.: ihlpg.3532 Posted: Mon Jul 27 15:35:14 1987 Date-Received: Tue, 28-Jul-87 06:43:40 EDT References: <142700010@tiger.UUCP> <2792@phri.UUCP> <8315@utzoo.UUCP> <4823@j.cc.purdue.edu> Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories - Naperville, Illinois Lines: 16 Summary: Trivia: How about 33 bit words? Xref: mnetor comp.unix.wizards:3444 comp.arch:1708 > > First, why did older machines have all sorts of strange word > >lengths -- 12, 36, and 60 being sizes that I know of, but I'm sure there > >were others. Just some trivia on strange word sizes... Some time ago (very long ago in fact) I came across a machine called an `ALWAC III'. It had 33 bit words!?? There was some logic in it though - four 8 bit bytes and a sign bit (though the sign bit was in the least significant position, and was 1 for positive, 0 for negative). Just think how much worse things could be ... -- ----------------- Ed Branagan ihnp4!ihlpg!ejbjr (312) 369-7408 (work)