🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <WAYNE.92Dec30093950@backbone.uucp> wayne@backbone.uucp (Wayne Schlitt) writes:
>From: wayne@backbone.uucp (Wayne Schlitt)
>Subject: Re: big + little endian (was: Comparison of Alpha, MIPS ..)
>Date: 30 Dec 92 15:39:50 GMT

>In article <1hquujINNmov@fido.asd.sgi.com> pj@sam.wpd.sgi.com (Paul Jackson) writes:
>> |> 01101001 may mean `105' (big-endian) or `150' (little-endian)
>> 
>> Big and little endian refer to the order of bytes within words,
>> not to the order of bits within bytes.
>> 

>Big and little endian refer to the order of sub-units within units,
>not just bytes and words.  

>You can order bits within bytes either way, bytes within words, and
>words within double words.  Various computers systems have made
>different choices at all of those levels.  The ordering of bits within
>bytes has pretty much standardized on the little-endian format.


On a system that addresses bytes, the bits within the byte do not have an 
ordering, except in a graphics sub-system, where the msb can be displayed on 
the left or the right.  (Assuming a pixel size smaler than 8 bits.)

Unfortunately, on mainstream PC graphics subsystems, the most significant 
bit of a byte is displayed on the left, even though the system is othewise 
little-endian.  This forces software to perform non-trivial operations on  
raster images a byte at a time.  If a unit larger than a byte is read, the 
bits within that unit are mis-ordered.


I have identified the root of this whole big-endian/little-endian debate.  
The conflict is is between text and numbers.  We read left to right.  But, 
if you were to number the digits of an integer, you would do it right to 
left.  The one's digit would be 0, the ten's digit, 1, etc.

This should never have been the case.  We adopted our number system from the 
Arabs, and the Arabs read right to left.  For them, the direction of reading 
text and numbers is CONSISTENT.  The whole problem arose because we failed 
to reverse the numbering system when we borrowed it from the Arabs.

I propose that we now correct this historical oversight.  Let us write 
numbers least significant digit first.  The bang symbol can be used to 
replace the decimal point, in order to distinguish little-endian numbers 
from big-endian.  The integer six hundred and fifty four should now be 
written !456.  Sixteen dollars and twenty five cents is now $ 52!61.


Sincerely,
Mark Gilbert