Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bbn!schooler@oak.bbn.com From: schooler@oak.bbn.com (Richard Schooler) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: negative addresses Message-ID: <24396@bbn.COM> Date: 10 May 88 21:04:30 GMT References: <2393@uvacs.CS.VIRGINIA.EDU> Sender: news@bbn.COM Reply-To: schooler@oak.bbn.com (Richard Schooler) Organization: BBN Advanced Computers, Inc. Lines: 11 In-reply-to: wulf@uvacs.CS.VIRGINIA.EDU (Bill Wulf) I've seen too many other uses of unsigned arithmetic to contemplate removing unsigned arithmetic. Some quantities are inherently unsigned, such as distance and degrees Kelvin. To many industrial applications, the difference between a 15-bit and a 16-bit integer is a critical one. Even 31 vs. 32 bits can make a difference, particularly in fixed-point work, where resolution counts as well as range. Unsigned integers are also good for bit-diddling in a language that doesn't support it explicitly. -- Richard Schooler schooler@bbn.com