[Info-vax] Micro Focus to be acquired by Open Text

[Johnny Billquist]

On 2022-09-02 17:10, Dave Froble wrote:
> On 9/2/2022 10:57 AM, Johnny Billquist wrote:
>> On 2022-09-02 16:45, Arne Vajhøj wrote:
>>> On 9/2/2022 10:33 AM, John Dallman wrote:
>>>> In article <63120065$0$705$14726298 at news.sunsite.dk>, arne at vajhoej.dk
>>>> (Arne Vajhøj) wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> What about CDC Display code?
>>>>>
>>>>> :-)
>>>>>
>>>>> Hint: 6 bit! (well 6 or 6/12 bit)
>>>>
>>>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDC_display_code> That's ... well, it
>>>> looks insane to me, but I presume it was at least somewhat suited to 
>>>> the
>>>> needs of the time. I don't believe the 63- and 64-character variations
>>>> can ever have been a good idea, though.
>>>
>>> It sort of made sense as the CDC system at the time operated on 60 bit
>>> entities (18 bit addresses of 60 bit words).
>>>
>>> 10 characters of 6 bits in a 60 bit word is manageable.
>>>
>>> 5-10 characters of 6/12 bits in a 60 bit word is somewhat manageable.
>>>
>>> 7.5 characters of 8 bit in a 60 bit word is not fun.
>>
>> Just waiting for someone to bring up the PDP-10 now. Bytes are of 
>> variable
>> length in the hardware, but 5 7-bit bytes in one word was common, with 
>> just one
>> wasted bit per word.
>> But again, 8-bit bytes would waste 4 bits per word...
>>
>>   Johnny
> 
> Back in the early 1970s I took a course in Cobol at University.  Cobol 
> on the PDP-10 used 6 bit characters.  6 characters per 36 bit word.
> 
> There, you got your mention ...
> 
> :-)

SIXBIT. Yay! That was popular at DEC for a while. Funny thing is that 
SIXBIT was also used on PDP-8, but they choose to do it differently than 
the PDP-10 for some reason. Just adding to the confusion.

(PDP-10 took the ASCII and subtracted 48 and then masked with 63, while 
PDP-8 took the ASCII and masked it with 63, if I remember right.)

   Johnny