From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-0.8 required=5.0 tests=DKIM_ADSP_CUSTOM_MED, DKIM_INVALID,DKIM_SIGNED,FREEMAIL_FROM,HTML_MESSAGE,MAILING_LIST_MULTI, T_SCC_BODY_TEXT_LINE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 Received: (qmail 3198 invoked from network); 8 Sep 2022 19:24:06 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (50.116.15.146) by inbox.vuxu.org with ESMTPUTF8; 8 Sep 2022 19:24:06 -0000 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [IPv6:::1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id D79B742293; Fri, 9 Sep 2022 05:23:42 +1000 (AEST) Received: from mail-oa1-f50.google.com (mail-oa1-f50.google.com [209.85.160.50]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTPS id 9B26442292 for ; Fri, 9 Sep 2022 05:23:39 +1000 (AEST) Received: by mail-oa1-f50.google.com with SMTP id 586e51a60fabf-1278a61bd57so28517744fac.7 for ; Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:23:39 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=20210112; h=cc:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:from:to:cc:subject:date; bh=vRQEoX1IlYs9pOlvKpiuM3/UuWvZ3qO52N4fs64tFSI=; b=IyS+Ps8oTClhk4m8x6O9CYKGTsP7TvJ2V+CXRtP3VniER3rCzpooU9Q8OVAFBJ5hA5 ByfSdRcwYOEe7Htz30h8z9FcYCvLUlFfOor4IxMaWaI11I5BVrq6A6YduvqxArC5fhcO JQpdxXL9TLW2XZX16n5TGbTv8LZ+y+vFLMJrAFPUEI/0ybP5Kmr5xsUJ1yzR4si67H/H Ohiyu5XOp2BM6z84vNNzTa+rKqOxNA1cPya8+DE+QSq2+Vczt3yBgPTi4SwptgZcJYbB 9Xinu+zuKsLK0TpN4puY8vJDqxHrsRKhx8EZStpNCX8kb5PAGM30b5WaqLRn6HFepugw 4t4A== X-Google-DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=1e100.net; s=20210112; h=cc:to:subject:message-id:date:from:in-reply-to:references :mime-version:x-gm-message-state:from:to:cc:subject:date; bh=vRQEoX1IlYs9pOlvKpiuM3/UuWvZ3qO52N4fs64tFSI=; b=JWKsYiBG/f3tvyt7LuwZg00bMV288qs5mMXmSBdaigJXm9D3gIkymWas7tXXJGU29H ATkmPygwvilN9ljHbYWcbh4MsKcdfMuGlO/20aCEF6O7x90MIaxGfLJU5lsni+jPBydp bkjg6bGZK3KhSXWEQ+mGtZDvQQ60A3aoXvd72zSRU8hKkr090Vf8BWiGNfMYkWDsKWZx DbZ9HYgLw1EdxzUKPjQFBBea9vMNHxniPOJYM7hiHpt3emZZjKbRhVnJy35XDBYwvYO+ 09R5ztCYzHYViKBB0On+dKiy43JC5pVQIrXK8xI4tEi+aZvzkvwv3ZMrFQGLReSZCRR+ J/Zw== X-Gm-Message-State: ACgBeo35U9TOvN//rvZuNYbhhAzveSIzrIVOm6upI3XNZkbPXuTewDIG /pCmTOcOC8AlwxkQVXzPvpmZt3t6sJbBUPVShXW7EK4cMuc= X-Google-Smtp-Source: AA6agR5mIIZ9Q/pymyJeUJKqAOyryb6Ux//MgQ5KqmZfiMyTxsn9lnBE1R97ZFvnN+l9XsvzTOM29g0tKuBbTmo7xx0= X-Received: by 2002:aca:3a56:0:b0:347:b965:4dd6 with SMTP id h83-20020aca3a56000000b00347b9654dd6mr2109580oia.218.1662664958684; Thu, 08 Sep 2022 12:22:38 -0700 (PDT) MIME-Version: 1.0 References: <20220908180149.CB4DC18C077@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> In-Reply-To: <20220908180149.CB4DC18C077@mercury.lcs.mit.edu> From: "John P. Linderman" Date: Thu, 8 Sep 2022 15:22:27 -0400 Message-ID: To: Noel Chiappa Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="0000000000003e326205e82f5af0" Message-ID-Hash: SDNHDO77PZFQNZBMXLRFCQOB4SCX5WHL X-Message-ID-Hash: SDNHDO77PZFQNZBMXLRFCQOB4SCX5WHL X-MailFrom: jpl.jpl@gmail.com X-Mailman-Rule-Misses: dmarc-mitigation; no-senders; approved; emergency; loop; banned-address; member-moderation; header-match-tuhs.tuhs.org-0; nonmember-moderation; administrivia; implicit-dest; max-recipients; max-size; news-moderation; no-subject; digests; suspicious-header CC: tuhs@tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 3.3.6b1 Precedence: list Subject: [TUHS] Re: Does anybody know the etymology of the term "word" as in collection of bits List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list Archived-At: List-Archive: List-Help: List-Owner: List-Post: List-Subscribe: List-Unsubscribe: --0000000000003e326205e82f5af0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8" In Brailsford's youtube series in Computerphile (something I came across through BWK's interview with Brailsford), Episode 86 is about "Where Did Bytes Come From?". He claims that if you wanted to do decimal arithmetic on a binary machine, you'd want to have 10 digits of accuracy to capture the 10 digit log tables that were then popular. 10 digits is around 33 to 36 bits, so words ended up that size (or half that size), 36 or 18 bits. (Brailsford's lectures are fabulous, by the way, likely to appeal to TUHS types.) I like that explanation better than the story I heard that the IBM 709 series had 36 bit words because Arthur Samuel, then at IBM, needed 32 bits to identify the playable squares on a checkerboard, plus some bits for color and kinged (if that's the proper term for getting across the board and gaining the ability to move toward either side). Samuel was famous for writing a checker playing program that played champion-quality checkers. On Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 2:02 PM Noel Chiappa wrote: > > On Sep 8, 2022, at 9:51 AM, Jon Steinhart wrote: > > > One of those questions for which there is no search engine > incantation. > > Whatever it is, it's really old. I found it used, not quite in the modern > sense, in "Hi-Speed Computing Devices", by ERA, 1950. It was used, in the > modern sense, in "Planning a Computer System", Buchholz,1962. > > Noel > --0000000000003e326205e82f5af0 Content-Type: text/html; charset="UTF-8" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
In = Brailsford's youtube series in Computerphile (something I came across t= hrough BWK's interview with Brailsford),
E= pisode 86=C2=A0is about "Where Did Bytes Come From?".=C2=A0 H= e claims that if you wanted to do decimal arithmetic on a
binary machine, you'd wa= nt to have 10 digits of accuracy to capture the 10 digit log tables that we= re then popular.
10 digits is around 33 to 36 bits, so words ended up that size (or half t= hat size), 36 or 18 bits. (Brailsford's lectures=C2=A0are
fabulous, by the way, likely= to appeal to TUHS types.)

I like that=C2=A0explanation better than the story I heard that the IBM 7= 09 series had 36 bit words because Arthur Samuel,
then at IBM, needed 32 bits to identify = the playable squares on a checkerboard, plus some bits for color and kinged=
(if that's= the proper term for getting across the board and gaining the ability to mo= ve toward either side). Samuel was
famous for writing a checker playing program that play= ed champion-quality checkers.=C2=A0

On Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 2:02 PM Noe= l Chiappa <jnc@mercury.lcs.mi= t.edu> wrote:
=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > On Sep 8, 2022, at 9:51 AM, Jon Steinhart <jon@fourwinds.com>= wrote:

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 > One of those questions for which there is no search engi= ne incantation.

Whatever it is, it's really old. I found it used, not quite in the mode= rn
sense, in "Hi-Speed Computing Devices", by ERA, 1950. It was used= , in the
modern sense, in "Planning a Computer System", Buchholz,1962.

=C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 =C2=A0 Noel
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