18 bit CPU; was: Speed now & then

[Charles Anthony]

On Thu, Apr 12, 2018 at 9:18 AM, Chuck Guzis via cctalk <
cctalk at classiccmp.org> wrote:

> On 04/12/2018 06:23 AM, Diane Bruce wrote:
>
> \
> I could see lots of problems doing it any other way, just from the
> viewpoint of 'C'.  A character on the Cyber 70/170 series is either 6
> bits or 12 bits, if extensions are used.   That's not to say that in a
> character string, *all* characters are either 6 bits or 12 bits, but can
> be a mixture, with certain 6-bit codes used as "escape" codes signaling
> a 12 bit character code.  Two null characters have to be placed in the
> low-order 12 bits of a word to signal an end of line, so that EOL can be
> anywhere from 12 to 60 bits.
>

And, if memory serves, the ":" was coded as a null character, causing it to
disappear from the end of a line.

-- Charles