J3/06-216

To:      J3
From:    Bill Long
Subject: C4 - UTI 18 : variable length bit strings
Date:    28-jul-2006

---------------------

Unresolved Technical Issue 18 (page 45) is a recommendation that no
aspect of the bits feature prevent a later conversion of the feature
into the variable length bit strings proposal.

Reply: The recommendation is technically impossible without crippling
the bits feature.  The current bits feature and the variable length
bits strings proposal are fundamentally different.  The later has been
rejected by both J3 and WG5.

Note that one could straightforwardly implement a user-defined
variable length bits string data type with an explicit length type
parameter and an array component of type default bits.  This should
provide most, if not all, of the functionality desired and have an
execution efficiency similar to that of an intrinsic variable length
bits string.