Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!sharkey!itivax!vax3!scs
From: scs@vax3.iti.org (Steve Simmons)
Newsgroups: gnu.gcc
Subject: Re: GNU C for 36 bit architecture
Summary: Yes, it's possible.  But hard...
Keywords: Please don't laugh
Message-ID: <1027@itivax.iti.org>
Date: 25 Apr 89 21:56:08 GMT
References: <45085@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu>
Sender: news@itivax.iti.org
Reply-To: scs@vax3.iti.org (Steve Simmons)
Distribution: gnu
Organization: Industrial Technology Institute
Lines: 18

In article <45085@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu> hbj@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (H Benny Jones) writes:
>Has anyone attempted a GNU C machine description for a DEC KL-10/20?
>Does anyone have any thoughts on the do-ability of such a thing?

I would say it's doable.  Many many moons ago a fella named Don
Wakelin at ADP Network Services successfully brought up a C compiler
on a PDP-10.  The issues of 'what is a character' were a lot of fun,
but the end result was a runnable C compiler which they used for some
real products that ran on MS-DOS, UNIX, and TOPS-10.

Both Don and I are long gone from ADPNS and I dunno where he went.  If
memory serves it took him months of part-time effort.  As a starting
base I think he used a C compiler for some 12-bit Harris machine, so
a lot of the wierdness of char sizes had already been dealt with.

   Steve Simmons         Just another midwestern boy
   scs@vax3.iti.org  -- or -- ...!sharkey!itivax!scs
         "Hey...you *can* get here from here!"