Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!orchid!atbowler
From: atbowler@orchid.waterloo.edu (Alan T. Bowler [SDG])
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: C machine
Message-ID: <12220@orchid.waterloo.edu>
Date: 10 Jan 88 18:51:50 GMT
References: <7535@alice.UUCP> <8226@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> <461@auvax.UUCP> <163@bhjat.UUCP>
Reply-To: atbowler@orchid.waterloo.edu (Alan T. Bowler [SDG])
Organization: U. of Waterloo, Ontario
Lines: 16

In article <163@bhjat.UUCP> bhj@bhjat.UUCP (Burt Janz) writes:
>
>In the "white book" on page 34, there is a brief discussion of "..."natural"
>size for a particular machine...".  I assume that means the internal register
>word size, not the bus transfer word size.
>
>I hold that a short is defined as ALWAYS being 16 bits, and a long as
>ALWAYS being 32 bits.  I don't know if I'm right in this regard, but being
>stubborn, I always press the point of previous compiler/machine definitions.
>

You really don't have to look past the "white book" to realize this is wrong.
The Honeywell 6000 (aka DPS-8 DPS-88 DPS-90 DPS8000) uses 36 bits
for short, int and long.  This choice was implemented even before VAXes existed.
The machine just doesn't handle integers of any smaller size with any
ease at all.