Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!garfield!john13
From: john13@garfield.MUN.EDU (John Russell)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: Unions
Message-ID: <4950@garfield.MUN.EDU>
Date: 22 Oct 88 05:50:35 GMT
References: <322@hrc.UUCP> <1988Oct21.155517.14257@utzoo.uucp>
Reply-To: john13@garfield.UUCP (John Russell)
Distribution: na
Organization: Memorial University of Newfoundland
Lines: 16

>In article <322@hrc.UUCP> dan@hrc.UUCP (Dan Troxel VP) writes:
>>Except for the memory savings, what are Unions suited for?

Although it might be considered under memory savings, another use is to
encode logically related but mutually exclusive pieces of information.
For example, expressing a point on the screen as either a video memory address
or an (x,y) pair. In this case it isn't the fact you can save a few
bits that's important, it's that a single object will always convey
the information regardless of how it's represented.

John
-- 
"The 68000 processor can't possibly handle a colour display. You must have a
 68020 system and not know it."
		-- Amiga and Atari ST owners shared a chuckle over this view
		   from sales *and* technical people at the local Apple dealer