3 ms·
You assume all bytes are eight bits, but that hasn’t always been the case. Machines with variable byte sizes were relatively common in the 70s and early 80s.
by valenciarose 6y ago
You assume all bytes are eight bits, but that hasn’t always been the case. Machines with variable byte sizes were relatively common in the 70s and early 80s. This is why so many RFCs use the word octet instead of byte.
- bzbarsky 6y agoEven now there are hardware architectures with non-8-bit bytes, typically DSPs.
- hilbert42 6y agoYeah, and I also remember when real parity checking was replaced with a special pseudo parity-pretend chip on many SIM modules. It was so designed to especially fool motherboards into thinking that parity was actually enabled and working when it was not. Yes, even the memory business had its sleazy carpetbaggers.
- rbanffy 6y agoI remember that. A 36 bit computer makes no sense until you realize people used octal a lot back then. And grouped switches in 3's instead of 4's.