Re: how to know sizeof(int)

[Keith Thompson <kst-u@mib.org>]

"Jean-Pierre Rosen" <rosen@adalog.fr> writes:
> "Ludovic Brenta" <ludovic.brenta@insalien.org> a �crit dans le
> message de news:87llguk9k1.fsf@insalien.org...
> > Indeed, hidden assumptions are evil, and the Enlightened Ones use
> > System.Storage_Unit instead of just "8".  Somehow, "8" is too short to
> > type and read :)
> Sure, but we are in a C context here. Try to explain to a C
> programmer that a byte does not necessarily have eight bits :-)

To a C programmer, a byte doesn't necessarily have 8 bits.  The C
standard guarantees that a byte is *at least* 8 bits, but there are
systems with larger bytes (I think 32 is typical for DSPs).

In C, the number of bits in a byte is determined by the macro CHAR_BIT
in <limits.h>.

You can't necessarily assume that C's CHAR_BIT is the same as Ada's
System.Storage_Unit, but I'd be very surprised to see a system where
they're different.

-- 
Keith Thompson (The_Other_Keith) kst-u@mib.org  <http://www.ghoti.net/~kst>
San Diego Supercomputer Center             <*>  <http://users.sdsc.edu/~kst>
We must do something.  This is something.  Therefore, we must do this.