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From: kim@amdahl.UUCP (Kim DeVaughn)
Newsgroups: comp.unix.wizards
Subject: Re: CYBER word length
Message-ID: <4169@amdahl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Nov-86 19:26:46 EST
Article-I.D.: amdahl.4169
Posted: Tue Nov 11 19:26:46 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Nov-86 00:48:30 EST
References: <7208@elsie.UUCP> <5142@brl-smoke.ARPA> <2447@hcr.UUCP> <612@astroatc.UUCP>
Organization: Amdahl Corporation,  Sunnyvale, CA 94086
Lines: 20

In article <612@astroatc.UUCP>, philm@astroatc.UUCP (Phil Mason) writes:
>                       CDC thought that nobody would ever use more than 64
> different symbols for I/O so they made their "byte" six bits long.  Packing
> ten of them in a word is convenient, to say the least.

And then they discovered that people would use more than 64 symbols, and
had to come up with an escape kluge to get additional symbols.  So now
CDC Display Codes can be either 6-bits or 12-bits in length.

/kim


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