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From: soper@encore.UUCP (Pete Soper)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.modula2
Subject: Re: Bit shifting operations
Message-ID: <1878@encore.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 27-Aug-87 10:18:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: encore.1878
Posted: Thu Aug 27 10:18:30 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 29-Aug-87 09:24:00 EDT
References: <669@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>
Reply-To: soper@encore.UUCP (Pete Soper)
Organization: Encore Computer Corp., Marlboro, MA
Lines: 20

In article <669@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu>
   sullivan@marge.math.binghamton.edu (fred sullivan) writes:

>>Supposedly, Modula-2 is a good systems programming language; but it
>>has no native bit-shifting operations.  Aren't bit-shifting 

>operations are inherently machine dependent.  Since such things are
>going to vary from machine to machine anyway, perhaps Prof. Wirth decided
>that it should be up to Modula implementors for various machines to include
>shifts or not.  At least one compiler (the Powell compiler for Ultrix)

Actually, Prof. Wirth provided a slew of extremely machine
dependent procedures in module SYSTEM for his single pass compiler. These
procs expand to inline code and are extremely efficient. They include both
arithmetic and logical shifts and a rotate function. Amazingly, though,
NEW AND DISPOSE as predefined procedures are absent and each port involves
implementing them.
-- 
Pete Soper, Encore Computer Corp
uucp: {necntc,talcott,ihnp4,decvax,allegra}!encore!soper