Re: About integers
Re: About integers
- Subject: Re: About integers
- From: Christopher Nebel <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 11:42:34 -0800
On Mar 1, 2005, at 11:19 AM, Doug McNutt wrote:
At 11:10 -0500 3/1/05, francois.houle wrote:
I was told that it should be possible to use applescript to add 32
bit
unsigned integers to a text file
From the AppleScript Language Guide:
The largest value that can be expressed as an integer in AppleScript
is
±536870909, which is equal to ±(2^29- 3). Larger integers (positive
or negative)
are converted to real numbers (expressed in exponential notation)
when scripts
are compiled.
What the extra three bits are used for remains a mystery but adding
(in the arithmetic sense) 32 bit integers is likely to result in an
unexpected 64 bit floating point result.
Regardless, it should work with "write ... as [unsigned] integer",
assuming the number is in the appropriate range for the type. You're
relying on Apple Event Manager coercions at that point.
Two asides:
1. The ASLG is slightly wrong; the precise range is +2^29-1 ... -2^29.
In other words, a 30-bit twos-complement signed integer.
2. The "missing" bits are used for a typed-pointer scheme in the
implementation. It's a common trick in LISP implementations and other
allocation-heavy environments.
--Chris Nebel
AppleScript Engineering
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