>>>>> "DS" == Dan Sugalski <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
DS> I was thinking of chips like the 68008, which had a 16-bit data
DS> bus. While the native word size was 32 bits, fetching one took two
DS> trips out to memory. Done automagically for you by the chip's
DS> circuitry so you didn't have to worry, but 16-bit integers were
DS> markedly faster to use than 32-bit ones.
DS> Nobody may do that any more, but I think extra pins off a chip
DS> still cost something, so they may still do it.
but that is all transparent to the software as you point out. thinking
about memory cycles here is premature optimization. for the 68k family
32 bits is the normal integer size (or should be). the bigger issue is
what OS runs on that 68k. if it is old sunos, *bsd, QNX or something
similar, perl should run as is. for the palmos that is a different
story. the palm hardware is big enough these days but the OS is very
restricted.
so let's stop worrying about embedded stuff now. if we make the primary
integer size a config option with proper defaults, that should allow any
embedded ports to do their thing. worrying about saving a bus cycle in a
perl program is kinda silly.
uri
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