🚀 go-pugleaf

rms@gnu.ai.mit.edu (Richard Stallman) writes:
> US patent number 4,956,809 covers using a single standard byte
> ordering for transfer of data between machines whose normal byte
> ordering is different.
[...]
> The simplest way to communicate data between different computers is to
> set up a convention for the ordering of the bytes in any multi-byte
> number.  If the big-endian ordering convention is chosen, then
> little-endian computers must reverse the byte order when they read and
> write network messages.
> 
> This is exactly what is covered by US patent 4,956,809.

This is insane.  I can't believe *anyone* -- computer-literate or not --
would consider that patentable.  I can only assume that the patent was
deliberately worded in an obfuscatory manner in order to get it past the
patent office.

"See, some people write their numbers with the millions on the left and the
ones on the right.  Other people write their numbers with the millions on the
right and the ones on the left.  We've got this great idea... if these people
talk to each other, they should decide on just one way of writing numbers so
that they can understand each other.  Can we have a patent?"


mathew