Subject: Re: Why CAFEBABE?
Date: Fri, 24 May 1996 16:35:55 GMT
From: Lee Crocker <lee@Unify.com>
To: comp.lang.java
(BTW, of course they're far from the first to use hex digits to
spell out meaningful words in their magic numbers. Twenty-something
years ago the Burroughs B6700 initialized its "uninitialized" memory
of 48-bit words to 0xBADBADBADBAD.)
And don't forget the old IBM machines that used 0xDEADBEEF for the
same purpose. Using uninitialized memory is still called a "dead
beef error" in some circles (at least among programmers old enough
to remember that).
A follow-up regarding the toms/493 routine I mentioned in my previous post
(http://www.netlib.org/toms/493).
Is anybody supporting TOMS algorithms?
Many routines posted on the NETLIB site include documentation
within the comments (date written, author, etc.). However, this
TOMS/493 routine does not. Who would a person contact with questions
about this routine? The reason I ask is because I am trying to write my
own version of this routine in C++. Most of the program looks pretty
straightforward; however, the three lines declaring machine constants
is throwing me off:
- Code: Select all
C THE VALUES BELOW CORRESPOND TO THE BURROUGHS B6700 BASE = 8. ETA = .5*BASE**(1-26) INFIN = 4.3E68 SMALNO = 1.0E-45
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