Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!hplabs!hp-sdd!ncr-sd!rb-dc1!shapiro
From: shapiro@rb-dc1.UUCP (Mike Shapiro)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c
Subject: Re: what is BSS and BSSEND
Message-ID: <396@rb-dc1.UUCP>
Date: 9 Mar 89 16:11:22 GMT
References: <15487@cup.portal.com> <15498@cup.portal.com>
Reply-To: shapiro@rb-dc1.SanDiego.gould.UUCP (Michael Shapiro)
Distribution: usa
Organization: Gould/GSD, San Diego
Lines: 25

In article <15498@cup.portal.com> Tim_CDC_Roberts@cup.portal.com writes:
>In article <15487@cup.portal.com>, Joseph C McDonald asks:
>
>> ... what to BSS and BSSEND stand for?

    <<< some deleted >>>

>The Control Data assemblers for NOS and for NOS/VE still use "BSS" to
>define storage.  Unverifiable rumor holds that there used to be a "BES"
>pseudo for "Block Ending at Symbol", although it is difficult to see a
>practical use for such a beast.


The IBM 704 used negative indexing.  The original FORTRAN comiler
stored arrays backwards.  The symbolic definition of the array name
went on the end, so the assembler supported it.  Programmers used
backward tables in assembly language and newer assemblers also had the
BES pseudo-op.  (Dim recollection!!!  Can anyone confirm/deny/provide
alternate?)

-- 

Michael Shapiro, Gould/General Systems Division
15378 Avenue of Science, San Diego, CA 92128
(619)485-0910    UUCP: ...sdcsvax!ncr-sd!rb-dc1!shapiro