At 05:48 18-02-2000 -0800, Markus Kuhn wrote:
>"G. Adam Stanislav" wrote on 2000-02-18 12:31 UTC:
>> Because such conversions take time, no matter how short,
>
>No, it does not. The Intel BSWAP command is executed in *zero* time on
>all Pentiums. It sets just a flag for the ALU and then drops out of the
>integer pipeline. Try it before you claim otherwise.
That's not the point, Markus. The point is that standards are not to be
rigid. If someone wishes to design and use a protocol that is explicitly
little-endian, he should be free to do so. Standards are here to make our
lives easier, not to fit everyone into a rigid mold.
BTW, I wish they had added the BSWAP to the 386, but it only appeared with
the 486, which limits its usefulness. Personally, I always write software
to run on the 386 because the 486 and Pentium did not make any
revolutionary changes that would justify cutting 386 users off.
Cheers,
Adam
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