Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!cs.utexas.edu!rutgers!apple!well!jax
From: jax@well.UUCP (Jack J. Woehr)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.forth
Subject: ANSI X3J14 TC Member Solicits Recommendations
Summary: Break Hearts or Break Code?
Keywords: ANSI, X3J14, 1's-complement, math, logic, primitives
Message-ID: <12488@well.UUCP>
Date: 30 Jun 89 05:59:50 GMT
Reply-To: jax@well.UUCP (Jack J. Woehr)
Organization: Whole Earth 'Lectronic Link, Sausalito, CA
Lines: 53


 
	Chatted longish tonight with Wil Baden, Forther Emeritus,
FIG Board Member, ANSI X3J14 TC Member.

	Wil  apprised us of an engaging conundrum confronting the
TC struggling to hammer out an ANSI Standard Forth.

	Here is the problem:

	Forth implicitly recognizes 2's-complement arithmetic.

	Not all computation is done in 2's-complement. The CRAY,
for instance, is a 1's-complement machine.

	To give you a brief sampler of the problem, imagine an
eight-bit one's-complement machine.

	In binary base, you enter:

		11111111 11111111 +

	The result of this operation on a one's-complement machine  
is:

		11111111

	THINK about it.

	Wil Baden and the ANSI X3J14 want to know WHAT YOU WANT:

	Should ANSI 

		a) break code 

		b) divorce Forth from 2's-complement

		c) punt?

	Your Suggestions Are Eagerly Solicited By The Technical Committee.

	please respond directly to the TC or email jax@well. 

	will forward your best & worst recommendations to the X3J14 TC.


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