Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!ccplumb From: ccplumb@watmath.waterloo.edu (Colin Plumb) Newsgroups: comp.arch Subject: Re: standard size names Message-ID: <17290@watmath.waterloo.edu> Date: 5 Mar 88 01:29:54 GMT References: <9766@steinmetz.steinmetz.UUCP> Reply-To: ccplumb@watmath.waterloo.edu (Colin Plumb) Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 24 Confusion: U. of Waterloo, Ontario davidsen@crdos1.UUCP (bill davidsen) wrote: >jk3k+@andrew.cmu.edu (Joe Keane) writes: >> We all know a `nibble' is 4 bits, and a `byte' is 8. But what are 16, 32 >> and 64 bits? In C terminology you've got `short', `long' and `long long' > >Actually you forgot going toward zero and names. I have heard the term >'tayste' used for half a nybble, and everyone agrees that a bit is a >bit. > >Personally I think half a nybble should be a 'quarter'. Everyone knows >that two bits is a quarter (Sorry, couldn't resist). Helios, the promised OS for Atari's promised Transputer box, used the term "morsel" for 2 bits. A quote from the spec: "I could not recall any name for a 2-bit field, but my thesaurus lists bite, nibble, and morsel in that order, so the choice was obvious." Two bits is a quarter? You're *still* using pieces of eight down there? :-) -- -Colin (watmath!ccplumb) Zippy says: I'm in direct contact with many advanced fun CONCEPTS.