From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: *** X-Spam-Status: No, score=3.8 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID, RATWARE_MS_HASH,RATWARE_OUTLOOK_NONAME autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,9a441a9594e85d08 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-Thread: fb57f,9a441a9594e85d08 X-Google-Attributes: gidfb57f,public From: "Nick Roberts" Subject: Re: Bignum modular types in Ada95 Date: 1998/01/28 Message-ID: <01bd2b95$9bf9c200$64fc82c1@xhv46.dial.pipex.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 319851249 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit References: <34CE568C.55D7E23D@cl.cam.ac.uk> <01bd2b92$b639c1e0$64fc82c1@xhv46.dial.pipex.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Organization: UUNet UK server (post doesn't reflect views of UUNet UK) Mime-Version: 1.0 Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada,sci.crypt Date: 1998-01-28T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Addendum I have always assumed (perhaps wrongly!) that decimal types would be implemented on many machines in BCD (packed ot not), in an arbitrary number of multiple machine words (however many are required). In these cases, something like bignums are supported -- or easily supportable -- anyway. On the other hand, one might argue that decimal types should be implemented in the same way as fixed types, on the grounds that this implementation will have been chosen for maximum performance (rather than flexibility, or the requirements of the Information Systems special annex). Perhaps a sensible compromise would be for compiler providers to adopt the convention that fixed types are implemented to make the best out of the underlying hardware, but decimal types are implemented for maximum flexibility and consistency of operation? Of course, that doesn't preclude the provision of built-in bignum capability for fixed types: these would undoubtedly be most suitable for the cryptographic calculations Markus was talking about. [editor's note: slightly late night post after a whiskey :-] -- Nick Roberts