Structured Fortran - was Re: Self modifying code, lambda calculus

[Jay Jaeger]

On 9/24/2015 2:04 AM, ben wrote:
> On 9/23/2015 11:22 PM, Eric Smith wrote:
> 
> 
> 0-99 can hold a trimmed character set and 10 digits per int.
> 5    chars per word sounds right on decimal machine.
> Logic operations would be on the digit rather the binary
> level. 

On a 1410 (or 1401) 0-63 can hold the entire character set using
char/int conversion instead of storing chars as their native bits, and
then we have 5 digits per int as the native integer size (size of an
address).

0-127 would be required to hold a character with a work mark bit, which
I think one would probably want to make available at a character level,
but try and avoid having them set inside of ints.

Also, on a 1410 or a 1401 with the right optional features, bitwise
operations (bitwise &^|) could still be carried out on a binary level
without undue difficulty.

As you say, logic operations (&&, ||) would presumably use int 0 and 1 -
but could still be carried out on a binary level.

>This may not be standard C but I has the early
> PDP 11 C  feel if they I developed UNIX on decimal machine.
> 
> Ben.
> 

Precisely.


JRJ