Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site timeinc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!cbdkc1!desoto!cord!bentley!hoxna!houxm!vax135!timeinc!jim From: jim@timeinc.UUCP (Jim Scardelis) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: Re: lint, pointers, 0 (what else?) Message-ID: <103@timeinc.UUCP> Date: Sun, 10-Feb-85 22:46:03 EST Article-I.D.: timeinc.103 Posted: Sun Feb 10 22:46:03 1985 Date-Received: Mon, 11-Feb-85 07:01:12 EST References: <366@harvard.ARPA> <250@cadre.ARPA> Distribution: net Organization: Warner Computer Systems Lines: 34 > Indeed? And what about the 8086, or worse yet, 8088? A full pointer > is a 20 bit address which must be specified by a 32 bit value (a > 16 bit offset and 16 bit segment which overlap for all but 4 bits!). > Add to that the 8088, which has 16 bit registers but does transfers > 8 bits at a time. What is the "natural" choice for an int on these > machines, and why should it have anything at all to do with their > pointer architecture? > > > Ken Mitchum > cadre.ARPA The 'natural choice' is sixteen bits if you go by the iAPx86 builtin integer size for mathmatics....but actually that should only hold for Small memory model programs. The large model programs should really use a 32 bit int, because of the pointer size...it seems that most of the C code I've seen assumes that a pointer is an int... ...like the netnews software that I'm having a *devil* of a time getting up on an IBM PC/AT (80286 chip)... Jim Scardelis -- "The opinions expressed herein are those of my computer, and are not necessarily mine, or those of my employer." ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- UUCP: {vax135|ihnp4}!timeinc!jim AT&T: (201) 843-0022 (business) ARPA: 1891@NJIT-EIES.MAILNET@MIT-MULTICS.ARPA USNAIL: P.O. Box 244 Little Falls, NJ 07424-0244 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------