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From: NORM%IONAACAD.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU (Norman Walsh)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.handhelds
Subject: Fast access to 64^2 bits...
Message-ID: <3273F4EA000059D3@gacvx2.gac.edu>
Date: 7 Apr 91 22:43:00 GMT
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Return-path: <@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU:NORM@IONAACAD.BITNET>
In-reply-to: Your message of Wed 3 Apr 1991 22:12 CST
To: handhelds@gac.edu

I decided to hack together a version of LIFE for my '48.  Why?  Mainly
because I was on a trip and didn't feel like reading on the plane.  Anyway,
I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that I couldn't contrive any
representation of the "playing field" that I could access fast enough to
make it usable.  Accessing data from PICT's is too slow, accessing portions
of a string is too slow, accessing bits in a list of binaries is too slow...

By the way, I finally deceded on a 64x64 playing field 'cause I thought it
would be convienient to represent "rows" of the field as binaries.

Can anyone think of a better representation?  Alternatively, does anyone
think that a little machine language could make it fast enough and, if so,
does it sound like something a complete novice at '48 machine language
could take up as a first project?
                                               Thanks,
                                               ndw