Re:Dense bitpacking
by Someone on Saturday August 08, 2015 @03:18PM
(#10028364)
"it requires knowing the range of each value that you're storing in the struct (and not just the number of bits)."
Many high-level languages require programmers to specify what you want to store ('an integer between -6 and 43, inclusive'), not how ('6 bits'). That typically makes it possible for the compiler to do just that. For example, Pascal has the 'packed' keyword (http://www.gnu-pascal.de/gpc/packed.html)
Many high-level languages require programmers to specify what you want to store ('an integer between -6 and 43, inclusive'), not how ('6 bits'). That typically makes it possible for the compiler to do just that. For example, Pascal has the 'packed' keyword (http://www.gnu-pascal.de/gpc/packed.html)