Cryptography-Digest Digest #959, Volume #9 Sat, 31 Jul 99 16:13:03 EDT
Contents:
Re: OTP export controlled? (Greg)
Americans abroad/Encryption rules? (UBCHI2)
Re: With all the talk about random... ("Kasper Pedersen")
Re: Decoding Hollywood History (Boaz Lopez)
Re: Modified Vigenere cipher (Alexander Demin)
Re: OTP export controlled? ("Douglas A. Gwyn")
Just a little hint to all 7758 ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: Modified Vigenere cipher (JPeschel)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a Byte?)
(Martin Ambuhl)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is ("Douglas
A. Gwyn")
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is ("Douglas
A. Gwyn")
Re: Americans abroad/Encryption rules? (W.G. Unruh)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a Byte?)
([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: How Big is a Byte? (was: New Encryption Product!) (Lincoln Yeoh)
Re: Americans abroad/Encryption rules? (Lincoln Yeoh)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
(SCOTT19U.ZIP_GUY)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a Byte?)
(Lincoln Yeoh)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is (Peter
Seebach)
Re: Anyone knows where to get original encryption source code? (Dworkin of Amber)
bits and bytes ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a Byte?)
(Robert Stonehouse)
Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a Byte?)
(Jack Klein)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Greg <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: talk.politics.crypto
Subject: Re: OTP export controlled?
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 23:20:04 GMT
After talking with someone in the NSA, who would advise commerce on
what should be export controlled and what should not be, the line of
code
file[i] ^= CDRom[i];
could not possibly be export controled. Their response would be
something like, How could you export control anything that is so simple
to write?
Their position appears to be focused on software that generates keys.
So if you do not try to take software out of the country that
"generates keys", you seem to be okay.
But what of the pad (which is the key)? Exporting a CDROM with nothing
but random bytes is hard to prove will be used as a OTP key, especially
if it is simply mailed unprotected and alone (no software). I think
they would not bother with any overt actions, but an investigation
would naturally lead them to copy the CDROM and then allow it to ship
as planned.
--
The US is not a democracy - US Constitution Article IV Section 4.
Democracy is the male majority legalizing rape.
UN Security Council is a Democracy. NO APPEALS! Welcome to the NWO.
Criminals=Crime. Armies=Tyranny. The 2nd amendment is about tyranny.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (UBCHI2)
Subject: Americans abroad/Encryption rules?
Date: 31 Jul 1999 00:04:59 GMT
If I travel to Germany or the Great Britain, am I, as a US citizen, permitted
to use 1000+ key length encryption to send emails to the US?
------------------------------
From: "Kasper Pedersen" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: With all the talk about random...
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 01:49:16 +0200
Shktr00p1 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]...
> >
> >When you have s, it's broken.
> >To turn it around, random() is as weak as it can possibly be.
> >To get that OTP, you need a real source of random numbers.
> >
> >/Kasper Pedersen
>
> I have written my random generator so that it is based on mouse movement,
time
> between clicks and mouse position. Is this effective?
> ( ( (( Shock Troop )) ) )
Maybe. Maybe not. There are two questions:
1) How much entrophy does it hold? If it's only 32 bits is not good enough.
Getting a PRNG to use a lot of bits per round is slightly difficult (and
much harder than I thought before I tried writing one myself - for learning
only).
2) Is it cryptographically secure? If it is easy to figure out it's internal
state a manageable slice at a time, it's no good. I would strongly suggest
an algorithm some bigshot cryptanalyst is really mad at.
Otherwise, humans mauling poor mice is somewhat random. But less than one
might think.
There's an awful lot of correlation.
If you're thinking OTP wise, what this thread has been discussing so far is
not an OTP, it's a hobbyist stream cipher without feedback. For an OTP the
amount of randomness needed exceeds what mice and keystrokes can reasonably
supply. Blowing air into a microphone or another hardware noise source is
the way to go.
/Kasper Pedersen
------------------------------
From: Boaz Lopez <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Re: Decoding Hollywood History
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 22:30:14 -1000
Please post an example of the code.
Even 10 characters will help.
Gabo3 wrote:
>
> I am the producer of a TV documentary series on the American Movie Classics
> network (AMC) called Hollywood Fashion Machine, about the history of fashion
> in the movies.
>
> We are producing an episode on the Westmore dynasty, the great family of make
> up artists (now in its fourth generation) that has dominated the field of movie
> makeup since the silent era (and still does.)
>
> The founder of the dynasty, George Westmore, was a great eccentric as well as a
> genius, and he kept two journals in some sort of code.
>
> These books are in the possession of the family, and have never been decoded.
> I am wondering if there is anyone in the LA area (or elsewhere) who might want
> to take this on - and perhaps come on our program and tell us just what George
> was encoding.
I am in San Jose.
>
> The current Westmores are also very eager to solve the mystery.
>
> If anyone is interested, my email address is [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>
> Or I can be reached at 323 463-7133.
>
> Thanks,
> Gabriel Rotello
> Producer
> Hollywood Fashion Machine
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Alexander Demin)
Subject: Re: Modified Vigenere cipher
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 06:36:11 GMT
On Thu, 29 Jul 1999 19:45:45 GMT, "Douglas A. Gwyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
wrote:
>Indeed, MilCryp (I think it was Part II) goes through the analysis of
>a representative example.
what is MilCryp? Could you give the url?
/ad ([EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: "Douglas A. Gwyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To: talk.politics.crypto
Subject: Re: OTP export controlled?
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 06:41:06 GMT
Jerry Park wrote:
> Otherwise an intelligent examination of the situation would
> necessarily conclude that the implementors of the law, rule, or
> regulation were incompetent. And that is far less likely than
> that the regulations stated and ineffective purpose is not
> really the regulations purpose.
Available evidence suggests that, to the contrary, it is quite
likely that the regulators are incompetent. Not to say that
they don't also have some hidden agenda.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: Just a little hint to all 7758
Date: 29 Jul 1999 19:36:58 -0500
If you own a small business you owe it yourself to take a 1 minute stop at
http://www.mdc.net/~rick/index2.html otherwise you never know what might haave been.
Is less than 1 minute to much to ask to improve your business 95%? Also if your a
webmaster this is just great for you to pick up some serious cash as well. The choice
is yours, be the future or history, choose wisely.
nmhuryzfyfkydptmdeqijmwiiytchlinpwjuuidmijowhkwropgyewnesbs
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (JPeschel)
Subject: Re: Modified Vigenere cipher
Date: 31 Jul 1999 07:03:14 GMT
>[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Alexander Demin) writes:
>what is MilCryp? Could you give the url?
I think Doug meant Friedman's <i>Military Cryptanalysis</i>.
I don't believe it's on the web.
Joe
__________________________________________
Joe Peschel
D.O.E. SysWorks
http://members.aol.com/jpeschel/index.htm
__________________________________________
------------------------------
From: Martin Ambuhl <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a
Byte?)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 02:09:32 -0400
"Mr. Leo Yanki" wrote:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Guenther Brunthaler) wrote:
>
> >... "byte" ... can have ANY number of bits
>
> A byte has exactly eight bits and can have 256 different values. A general
> term for any size collection of bits is "binary number". Please don't
> attempt to confuse people by trying to spread your personal redefinitions
> of commonly used technical terms.
I'm afraid you are showing your lack of experience. The fact is that G.
Brunthaler is correct. Your incorrect idea that "byte" means an octet
is a redefinition IBM tried to force on the computer world with the
introduction of the IBM 360. Isn't it nice to know that you are in
intellectual thrall to IBM?
> --
> "Mr. Leo Yanki" better known as [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 01 234 56789 <- Use this key to decode my email address.
> Fun & Free - http://www.5X5poker.com/
--
Martin Ambuhl [EMAIL PROTECTED]
__________________________________________________________
Fight spam now!
Get your free anti-spam service: http://www.brightmail.com
------------------------------
From: "Douglas A. Gwyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 06:34:19 GMT
"Mr. Leo Yanki" wrote:
> A byte has exactly eight bits and can have 256 different values.
Wrong.
> A general term for any size collection of bits is "binary number".
Wrong.
> Please don't attempt to confuse people by trying to spread your
> personal redefinitions of commonly used technical terms.
Good advice.
------------------------------
From: "Douglas A. Gwyn" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 06:33:24 GMT
Guenther Brunthaler wrote:
> Well, "byte" is simply short for "binary term" ...
What documentation do you have for that? I've been in computing
for a *long* time, and have never before encountered that.
> The soon-to-come standard header file "inttypes.h".
> This file solves all the problems associated with assigning bit
> sizes to integers - and provides even more.
As one of the authors of the specification for <inttypes.h> and its
subset <stdint.h>, I need to say that it is an exaggeration to claim
that it solves *all* such problems. However, it does provide a
*standard* way to identify what integer widths are supported by the
implementation and to specify width requirements functionally in
one's programs. And if your C implementation does not (yet) provide
these headers, they are not hard to concoct yourself.
> It also defines integers of a given minimum size or the fastest
> integer types that can contain at least a specific number of bits.
Not precisely -- the "fast" types aren't always the fastest, just
a good stab at picking such types for general use. One might get
faster execution with some other type, depending on the architecture
and application.
> Avoid using types such as 'int16_t' directly unless accessing
> hardware-registers or referring to external API's with specific bit
> size requirements ...
We also decided that the "exact" types such as int16_t shall use
twos-complement representation and contain no padding bits. (If
an implementation doesn't provide such a type, that's okay; if
your code depends on these properties then it should test a macro
to detect when the type is not supported.)
> A simply idea solution is to use
> return (uint_least16_t)(a + b & 0xffff);
> so that the code will work on any machine - but this will be an
> unnecessary operation if the machine DOES provide 16 bit native
> integers.
> So, the best solution is to provide a macro such as ...
You probably meant (a+b)&0xFFFF. I would expect a 16-bit
implementation to optimize away the unnecessary mask.
There is no need for a macro, although it might be helpful
simply to give a name to the masking operation (and to
centralize its definition).
> And if you happen to know someone who is a member of the ANSI/ISO or
> other standards committee involved in standardizing C/C++, please
> encourage him or her to consider suggesting inttypes.h for inclusion
> into the standard!
We have already done that.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (W.G. Unruh)
Subject: Re: Americans abroad/Encryption rules?
Date: 31 Jul 99 12:31:25 GMT
[EMAIL PROTECTED] (UBCHI2) writes:
>If I travel to Germany or the Great Britain, am I, as a US citizen, permitted
>to use 1000+ key length encryption to send emails to the US?
Yes. You are just not allowed to take out of the USA any program which could
create such an encrypted email You may however obtain such a program outside the
USA and use it to send your messages.
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 12:14:44 -0400
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a
Byte?)
Mr. Leo Yanki wrote:
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Guenther Brunthaler) wrote:
>
> >... "byte" ... can have ANY number of bits
>
> A byte has exactly eight bits and can have 256 different values. A general
> term for any size collection of bits is "binary number". Please don't
> attempt to confuse people by trying to spread your personal redefinitions
> of commonly used technical terms.
Oh really. I'm using 5-bit baudot code on a 12-bit CPU with 6-bit
characters. An 8-bit byte is useless to me. _*YOUR*_ definition of a
byte is not, and never will be definitive. It is probably based on your
lack of experience with CPU architectures.
Simply becuase a term is "commonly used" does not mean it has a single
interpretation. Indeed, commonly used terms are often the most easily
overloaded. What does "format" mean? I know of at least five
definitions, and am willing to bet my list is not exhaustive.
"When I use a word it means exactly what I want it to mean, no more and
no less."
------------------------------
Date: Fri, 30 Jul 1999 12:19:12 -0400
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
Douglas A. Gwyn wrote:
>
> Guenther Brunthaler wrote:
> > Well, "byte" is simply short for "binary term" ...
>
> What documentation do you have for that? I've been in computing
> for a *long* time, and have never before encountered that.
>
> > The soon-to-come standard header file "inttypes.h".
> > This file solves all the problems associated with assigning bit
> > sizes to integers - and provides even more.
>
> As one of the authors of the specification for <inttypes.h> and its
> subset <stdint.h>, I need to say that it is an exaggeration to claim
> that it solves *all* such problems. However, it does provide a
> *standard* way to identify what integer widths are supported by the
> implementation and to specify width requirements functionally in
> one's programs. And if your C implementation does not (yet) provide
> these headers, they are not hard to concoct yourself.
I've been doing this for a while now and it's a pain. Is there a draft
of the standard available? Meaning, a sample/example?
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Lincoln Yeoh)
Crossposted-To: alt.folklore.computers
Subject: Re: How Big is a Byte? (was: New Encryption Product!)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:35:22 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Fri, 30 Jul 1999 08:30:43 +0900, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Paul Guertin) wrote:
>Except in Korea, and maybe other countries as well. A newborn is 1 year old
>over there.
For the Chinese I belive it's more like 9 months. But most people don't
bother to be exact nowadays.
Cheerio,
Link.
****************************
Reply to: @Spam to
lyeoh at @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
pop.jaring.my @
*******************************
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Lincoln Yeoh)
Subject: Re: Americans abroad/Encryption rules?
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:52:04 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On 31 Jul 1999 01:48:58 GMT, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (JPeschel) wrote:
>>If I travel to Germany or the Great Britain, am I, as a US citizen, permitted
>>to use 1000+ key length encryption to send emails to the US?
>
>You should still be able to take strong crypto abroad for personal use.
>I believe you need to keep notes for five years on how it was used.
>
>The "personal use" exemption was written a few years ago when ITAR
>still applied, but I believe it is still the rule.
How about a foreigner with PGP visiting USA and then trying to erm leave?
Or what if I had no intention of entering the USA but the plane had to stay
longer than expected on US soil? Can I get off the plane with my notebook
PC?
My uncle had a bad experience with the US immigration officials - his plane
somehow had to stay on US soil longer and they made the passengers leave
the plane. The immigration authorities kept pestering him about why he
didn't have a visa. My uncle was very annoyed and angry.
Land of the free. Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe "it's the veil pulled over your
eyes..." ;).
Cheerio,
Link.
****************************
Reply to: @Spam to
lyeoh at @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
pop.jaring.my @
*******************************
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (SCOTT19U.ZIP_GUY)
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 20:18:42 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Douglas A. Gwyn wrote:
>>
>> Guenther Brunthaler wrote:
>> > Well, "byte" is simply short for "binary term" ...
>>
>> What documentation do you have for that? I've been in computing
>> for a *long* time, and have never before encountered that.
>>
>> > The soon-to-come standard header file "inttypes.h".
>> > This file solves all the problems associated with assigning bit
>> > sizes to integers - and provides even more.
>>
>> As one of the authors of the specification for <inttypes.h> and its
>> subset <stdint.h>, I need to say that it is an exaggeration to claim
>> that it solves *all* such problems. However, it does provide a
>> *standard* way to identify what integer widths are supported by the
>> implementation and to specify width requirements functionally in
>> one's programs. And if your C implementation does not (yet) provide
>> these headers, they are not hard to concoct yourself.
>
>I've been doing this for a while now and it's a pain. Is there a draft
>of the standard available? Meaning, a sample/example?
It is not hard for the user to build his own subset of routines and
test them on whatever machine he uses. I do that when I write code
that needs to run on other machines and then one can isolate the
changes you need to a small set of routines or files.
Look at my code for an example. But the problem is not just different
machines. But on the PC for example the size of int and long vary based
on the complier vendor.
David A. Scott
--
SCOTT19U.ZIP NOW AVAILABLE WORLD WIDE
http://www.jim.com/jamesd/Kong/scott19u.zip
http://members.xoom.com/ecil/index.htm
NOTE EMAIL address is for SPAMERS
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Lincoln Yeoh)
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a
Byte?)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:44:27 GMT
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Fri, 30 Jul 1999 12:14:44 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Simply becuase a term is "commonly used" does not mean it has a single
>interpretation. Indeed, commonly used terms are often the most easily
True. But its good to cache commonly used terms as primary context.
Now that we've defined byte to bits should we go on to definitions of
Megabyte? ;).
Link.
****************************
Reply to: @Spam to
lyeoh at @[EMAIL PROTECTED]
pop.jaring.my @
*******************************
------------------------------
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Peter Seebach)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 18:46:42 GMT
In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I've been doing this for a while now and it's a pain. Is there a draft
>of the standard available? Meaning, a sample/example?
I'm not sure what you mean. If you mean a draft of the text of the standard,
I think there was a reasonably recent one. If you mean a sample <inttypes.h>,
I think gcc comes with one.
-s
--
Copyright 1999, All rights reserved. Peter Seebach / [EMAIL PROTECTED]
C/Unix wizard, Pro-commerce radical, Spam fighter. Boycott Spamazon!
Will work for interesting hardware. http://www.plethora.net/~seebs/
Visit my new ISP <URL:http://www.plethora.net/> --- More Net, Less Spam!
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Dworkin of Amber)
Subject: Re: Anyone knows where to get original encryption source code?
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 15:51:11 -0400
In article <7nn9ho$p81$[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, [EMAIL PROTECTED] says...
> Hi,
>
> I'm undergoing a project of analyising cryptography, does anyone knows where
> can I get the generic codes of different encryption method like DES,
> Blowfish, IDEA and many others?
<clip>
Yes. A good starting point is the source code in the back of 'Applied
Cryptology, Protocols, Algorithms, and Source code in C'. It has
everything you mentioned and then some. An even better source would be
'Dr Dobbs Essential Books on Cryptology and Security', a CD-Rom with 12
medium grade books on the subject, including the one mentioned above.
See Dr Dobbs site for details http://www.ddj.com
Probably the best source for crypto programming coding is something
called the crypto3.0 library, available on the internet. Its full of
source, excellent coding and optimization, and it compiles on many C/C++
compilers. It is free to use, with the license included stating that the
library is free, the algorithms may be patented and restricted by
its submitters. Finding it is tough due to the fact that the US
government takes excpeption to any crypto libraries. Last time I
downloaded it, it was from Finland.
If you want I can send it to you, about 1 meg zipped.
JT.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: bits and bytes
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:50:14 GMT
After recently being pounded on I think I will post this so we can stop
the bickering about C programming.
A bit is either 1 or 0. Smallest unit given.
A byte is *NOT* 8 bits. If you want to be specific say 8-bits or an
octet.
In C there are no standard bit sizes for any types. They must only
hold the required data ranges. A 'char' must hold at least -127 to 128
(or vice versa?), an int must hold at least -32767 to 32768, etc...
etc...
Normally on MSDOS platforms char is 8 bits, but that is not a given for
all platforms (notably PICs and other wierd processors).
I would suggest that anyone confused read K&R or any ANSI C spec online
regarding data types. And please stop the bickering.
Tom
--
PGP key is at:
'http://mypage.goplay.com/tomstdenis/key.pgp'.
Free PRNG C++ lib:
'http://mypage.goplay.com/tomstdenis/prng.html'.
Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Share what you know. Learn what you don't.
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Robert Stonehouse)
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a
Byte?)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:54:09 GMT
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>Mr. Leo Yanki wrote:
>> [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Guenther Brunthaler) wrote:
>> >... "byte" ... can have ANY number of bits
>>
>> A byte has exactly eight bits and can have 256 different values. A general
>> term for any size collection of bits is "binary number". Please don't
>> attempt to confuse people by trying to spread your personal redefinitions
>> of commonly used technical terms.
>
>Oh really. I'm using 5-bit baudot code on a 12-bit CPU with 6-bit
>characters. An 8-bit byte is useless to me. _*YOUR*_ definition of a
>byte is not, and never will be definitive. It is probably based on your
>lack of experience with CPU architectures.
The word 'byte' is an artificial word, introduced by IBM in 1964
specifically to denote the 8-bit character used in System/360. IBM's
definition is the definitive one.
>Simply becuase a term is "commonly used" does not mean it has a single
>interpretation. Indeed, commonly used terms are often the most easily
>overloaded. What does "format" mean? I know of at least five
>definitions, and am willing to bet my list is not exhaustive.
>
>"When I use a word it means exactly what I want it to mean, no more and
>no less."
Humpty Dumpty is not a good model for definitions.
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
------------------------------
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Jack Klein)
Crossposted-To:
alt.folklore.computers,alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++,comp.lang.c++,microsoft.public.vc.language
Subject: Re: How to write REALLY PORTABLE code dealing with bits (Was: How Big is a
Byte?)
Date: Sat, 31 Jul 1999 19:49:02 GMT
On Fri, 30 Jul 1999 12:19:12 -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote in
alt.comp.lang.learn.c-c++:
> Douglas A. Gwyn wrote:
> >
> > Guenther Brunthaler wrote:
> > > Well, "byte" is simply short for "binary term" ...
> >
> > What documentation do you have for that? I've been in computing
> > for a *long* time, and have never before encountered that.
> >
> > > The soon-to-come standard header file "inttypes.h".
> > > This file solves all the problems associated with assigning bit
> > > sizes to integers - and provides even more.
> >
> > As one of the authors of the specification for <inttypes.h> and its
> > subset <stdint.h>, I need to say that it is an exaggeration to claim
> > that it solves *all* such problems. However, it does provide a
> > *standard* way to identify what integer widths are supported by the
> > implementation and to specify width requirements functionally in
> > one's programs. And if your C implementation does not (yet) provide
> > these headers, they are not hard to concoct yourself.
>
> I've been doing this for a while now and it's a pain. Is there a draft
> of the standard available? Meaning, a sample/example?
The FCD (Final Committee Draft) was made available for public comment,
and it can still be downloaded in text and Adobe PDF format. Most
likely this is the last draft that will be available. Hopefully once
the standard is ratified it will be available for purchase and
download inexpensively from ANSI as last year's C++ standard.
In any case, the URL to the page for n2794, the FCD:
http://anubis.dkuug.dk/JTC1/SC22/open/n2794/
Jack Klein
--
Home: http://home.att.net/~jackklein
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