phipps@garth.UUCP (Clay Phipps) (12/31/88)
In article <1080@l.cc.purdue.edu>, cik@l.cc.purdue.edu (Herman Rubin) writes: > >There is need for the software operations >which those who understand the use of bit patterns >find useful to be included in the languages. >That these operations are not much used is no evidence >[for their exclusion]. I deal regularly with "bit patterns" as a languages/compilers person, but I have never attempted (or wanted) to write code for things like multiple-precision arithmetic, FFTs, or data compression. I assume that those are examples of the bit-pattern dirty work that Rubin has in mind. Now that Rubin has provoked a reaction, here's your chance -- what, specifically, would you "find useful" for doing that work in an HLL ? >What is needed [for multiple precision operations] >is fast unsigned integer arithmetic. Don't you need access at the language source-code level to carry-bits and things like them, e.g., for multiple-precision operations ? [Note that the discussion has been split: into "comp.arch", where it originated, and into "comp.lang.misc", for language features only.] -- [The foregoing may or may not represent the position, if any, of my employer] Clay Phipps {ingr,pyramid,sri-unix!hplabs}!garth!phipps Intergraph APD, 2400#4 Geng Road, Palo Alto, CA 93403 415/494-8800