Re: Keeping other stuff with addresses

On Tue, 3 Dec 2024 18:19:51 +0000, John Levine wrote:

According to Stefan Monnier  <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>:

another way to steal bits is over alignment.

>
Yup.  I keep lamenting that Alpha didn't go for bit-addressed memory,
which would have given us 3 extra free bits from alignment (as well as
allowing pointers to bits and bitfields).

>
I thought STRETCH persuaded people that bit addressable memory was a bad
idea.

With the address space STRETCH had bit addressability IS a VERY bad
Idea.
We now have people (again) using the top bits of pointers for "special
things".
Thus the Ferris wheel of invention is caught in a loop.