[Info-vax] HP wins Oracle Itanium case

[Bob Koehler]

In article <BbPZr.13452$g43.7222 at fx21.am4>, ChrisQ <meru at devnull.com> writes:
> 
> Give me a few common use examples of real life computing where a byte means
> anything other than 8 bits. I'm sure there must be a few.

   TOPS-10 and -20 stored all thier ASCII characters in 7 bit bytes,
   5 to the 36 bit word, with the msb of the word unused.

   The COBOL compilers for TOPS-10 and -20 would store data in EBCDIC,
   if asked, instead of ASCII.

   EBCDIC was stored in 9 bit bytes, 4 to the 36 bit word, with the msb
   of each byte unused.

   So all the real life computing we did on TOPS-10 and -20 were
   examples where a byte means something other than 8 bits.

   The PDP-10 hardware reference defined "byte" as a user defined quantity
   of 1 to 36 bits in length.