Byte

17 definitions retrieved

byte
n 1: a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of
alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of
information

Byte

A popular computing magazine.

Home (http://www.byte.com).

(1997-03-27)

byte

/bi:t/ (B) A component in the machine data hierarchy
usually larger than a bit and smaller than a word; now
most often eight bits and the smallest addressable unit of
storage. A byte typically holds one character.

A byte may be 9 bits on 36-bit computers. Some older
architectures used "byte" for quantities of 6 or 7 bits, and
the PDP-10 and IBM 7030 supported "bytes" that were actually
bit-fields of 1 to 36 (or 64) bits! These usages are now
obsolete, and even 9-bit bytes have become rare in the general
trend toward power-of-2 word sizes.

The term was coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956 during the
early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer. It was a
mutation of the word "bite" intended to avoid confusion with
"bit". In 1962 he described it as "a group of bits used to
encode a character, or the number of bits transmitted in
parallel to and from input-output units". The move to an
8-bit byte happened in late 1956, and this size was later
adopted and promulgated as a standard by the System/360
operating system (announced April 1964).

James S. Jones adds:

I am sure I read in some historical brochure by IBM some 15-20
years ago that BYTE was an acronym that stood for "Bit
asYnchronous Transmission E__?__" which related to width of
the bus between the Stretch CPU and its CRT-memory (prior to
Core).

Terry Carr says:

In the early days IBM taught that a series of bits transferred
together (like so many yoked oxen) formed a Binary Yoked
Transfer Element (BYTE).

[True origin? First 8-bit byte architecture?]

See also nibble, octet.

[Jargon File]

(1998-08-06)

byte
/bi:t/, n.

[techspeak] A unit of memory or data equal to the amount used to
represent one character; on modern architectures this is invariably 8
bits. Some older architectures used byte for quantities of 6, 7, or
(especially) 9 bits, and the PDP-10 supported bytes that were
actually bitfields of 1 to 36 bits! These usages are now obsolete,
killed off by universal adoption of power-of-2 word sizes.

Historical note: The term was coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956
during the early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer;
originally it was described as 1 to 6 bits (typical I/O equipment of
the period used 6-bit chunks of information). The move to an 8-bit
byte happened in late 1956, and this size was later adopted and
promulgated as a standard by the System/360. The word was coined by
mutating the word `bite' so it would not be accidentally misspelled
as bit. See also nybble.