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=-1.3 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00,INVALID_MSGID autolearn=no autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,f3f9104dada53163 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public From: "Marin David Condic, 561.796.8997, M/S 731-96" Subject: Re: An interesting quote on Java and C++ Date: 1997/09/25 Message-ID: <97092509394068@psavax.pwfl.com>#1/1 X-Deja-AN: 275470858 Sender: Ada programming language Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU X-VMS-To: SMTP%"INFO-ADA@VM1.NODAK.EDU" X-VMS-Cc: CONDIC Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Date: 1997-09-25T00:00:00+00:00 List-Id: Robert A Duff writes: >Note that modular types are not just about modular arithmetic -- they >also support bit-wise logical operations. On a one's complement >machine, you still want to be able to have all-ones as a bit pattern, if >you're using these things as bit patterns, even though it's >arithmetically equal to zero. > This gets me curious about the possibility that we may be spending lots of time in the Ada standard dealing with things that are non-issues. I ask out of ignorance: Are there any reasonably popular microprocessors that are *not* twos-compliment machines? I don't think I've ever had occasion to work with a ones-compliment microprocessor. If there are some ones-compliment machines out there in large numbers, has anyone ever built an Ada compiler for them? Would there be any real interest in doing so or are they too specialized to expect Ada to suddenly become popular on them? It's a little like agonizing over making it convenient to port Ada to a DEC-10 processor with a 36bit word. That architecture has long since been relegated to history (and I occasionaly miss it!) and just about everything in significant use today uses a 16bit, 32bit or maybe 64bit word. So we can write an Ada standard that conveniently maps the standard Integer types to these limits and not worry if there's some obscure machine that won't find this handy. MDC Marin David Condic, Senior Computer Engineer ATT: 561.796.8997 Pratt & Whitney GESP, M/S 731-96, P.O.B. 109600 Fax: 561.796.4669 West Palm Beach, FL, 33410-9600 Internet: CONDICMA@PWFL.COM =============================================================================== "Cross country skiing is great if you live in a small country." -- Steven Wright ===============================================================================