perl -e' use strict; my $bina; my $count; my $bits = ~(64); while ($bits) { prbit($bits); $bits >>= 1; $count++; } sub prbit { my $bi=shift; $bina.=($bi%2)? "0":"1"; } $bina=reverse($bina); print "$bina\n$count bit words are being used.\n";' __OUTPUTS__ 00000000000000000000000001000000 32 bit words are being used.