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C++ proposal: There are exactly 8 bits in a byte

(www.open-std.org)
182 points Twirrim | 1 comments | 17 Oct 24 22:21 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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pabs3 ◴[18 Oct 24 01:00 UTC] No.41875419[source]▶
Hmm, I wonder if any modern languages can work on computers that use trits instead of bits.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ternary_computer

replies(2): >>41875556 #>>41875664 #
1. cobbal ◴[18 Oct 24 01:48 UTC] No.41875664[source]▶
Possible, but likely slow. There's nothing in the "C abstract machine" that mandates specific hardware. But, the bitshift is only a fast operation when you have bits. Similarly with bitwise boolean operations.