Xref: utzoo sci.math:6994 comp.misc:6299 Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!desnoyer From: desnoyer@Apple.COM (Peter Desnoyers) Newsgroups: sci.math,comp.misc Subject: Re: Base 3 computers? (was: Divide by three?) Message-ID: <32338@apple.Apple.COM> Date: 9 Jun 89 20:29:13 GMT References: <6710021@hpcupt1.HP.COM> <6250@sunray.UUCP> <324@berlioz.nsc.com> Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA Lines: 14 In article <6250@sunray.UUCP> alanm@cognos.UUCP (Alan Myrvold) writes: >I recall hearing about a USSR computer that did base 3 arithmetic, and even >had a Fortran compiler. Does anyone have details or a reference ??? > I seem to remember from a computer architecture course that using bases other than 2 is standard practice in constructing hardware multipliers, in order to limit carry propagation. Evidently you use base 3, with two wires per digit. Or something like that. On a different line, multi-level logic is used for some high-density ROMs. There was an issue of Spectrum (I think - or was it Computer?) on the subject about a year ago. Peter Desnoyers