Re: standard representations

[Nick Ing-Simmons]

Dan Sugalski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
>I'm reasonably certain that all platforms that perl will ultimately run on 
>can muster hardware support for 16-bit integers. 

Hmm, most modern RISCs are very bad at C-like 16-bit arithmetic - they have
a tendency to widen to 32-bits.

>I also expect that they 
>can all muster at least software support for 32-bit integers. However....
>
>The issue isn't support, it's efficiency. Since we're not worrying about 
>loss of precision (as we will be upconverting as needed) the next issue is 
>speed, and that's where we want things to be in a platform convenient size.
>
>I honestly can't think of any reason why the internal representation of an 
>integer matters to the outside world, but if someone can, do please 
>enlighten me. :)

I can't think of anything except the range that is affected by the 
representation.

-- 
Nick Ing-Simmons