HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

In computing, a syllable is a name for a platform-dependent unit of information storage. Depending on the target hardware, various bit widths (and sometimes internal groupings) are associated with it. Commonly used in the 1960s and 1970s, the term has mostly fallen into disuse in favour of terms like
byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
or
word A word is a basic element of language that carries an objective or practical meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible. Despite the fact that language speakers often have an intuitive grasp of what a word is, there is no consen ...
. Examples: * 3-bit syllables: some experimental CISC designs *
8-bit In computer architecture, 8-bit integers or other data units are those that are 8 bits wide (1 octet). Also, 8-bit central processing unit (CPU) and arithmetic logic unit (ALU) architectures are those that are based on registers or data buses of ...
syllables:
English Electric KDF9 KDF9 was an early British 48-bit computer designed and built by English Electric (which in 1968 was merged into International Computers Limited (ICL)). The first machine came into service in 1964 and the last of 29 machines was decommissioned ...
(represented as
syllabic octal Syllabic octal and split octal are two similar notations for 8-bit and 16-bit octal numbers, respectively, used in some historical contexts. Syllabic octal ''Syllabic octal'' is an 8-bit octal number representation that was used by English Elect ...
s and also called
slob-octal Syllabic octal and split octal are two similar notations for 8-bit and 16-bit octal numbers, respectively, used in some historical contexts. Syllabic octal ''Syllabic octal'' is an 8-bit octal number representation that was used by English Elect ...
s or slobs in this context) and
Burroughs large systems The Burroughs Large Systems Group produced a family of large 48-bit mainframes using stack machine instruction sets with dense syllables.E.g., 12-bit syllables for B5000, 8-bit syllables for B6500 The first machine in the family was the B5000 in ...
(see also: Burroughs B6x00-7x00 instruction set) *
12-bit Possibly the best-known 12-bit CPU is the PDP-8 and its relatives, such as the Intersil 6100 microprocessor produced in various forms from August 1963 to mid-1990. Many analog to digital converters (ADCs) have a 12-bit resolution. Some PIC micr ...
syllables: NCR computers such as the
NCR 315 The NCR 315 Data Processing System, released in January 1962 by NCR, is a second-generation computer. All printed circuit boards use resistor–transistor logic (RTL) to create the various logic elements. It uses 12-bit ''slab'' memory structur ...
(also called slabs in this context) and
Burroughs large systems The Burroughs Large Systems Group produced a family of large 48-bit mainframes using stack machine instruction sets with dense syllables.E.g., 12-bit syllables for B5000, 8-bit syllables for B6500 The first machine in the family was the B5000 in ...
* 13-bit syllables: Saturn Launch Vehicle Digital Computer (LVDC) and
Gemini Spacecraft On-Board Computer The Gemini Guidance Computer (sometimes Gemini Spacecraft On-Board Computer (OBC)) was a digital, serial computer designed for Project Gemini, America's second human spaceflight project. The computer, which facilitated the control of mission mane ...
(OBC)


See also

*
Byte The byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of eight bits. Historically, the byte was the number of bits used to encode a single character of text in a computer and for this reason it is the smallest addressable unit ...
*
Catena (computing) In computing, a word is the natural unit of data used by a particular processor design. A word is a fixed-sized datum handled as a unit by the instruction set or the hardware of the processor. The number of bits or digits in a word (the ''word si ...
* Instruction syllable *
Nibble In computing, a nibble (occasionally nybble, nyble, or nybl to match the spelling of byte) is a four-bit aggregation, or half an octet. It is also known as half-byte or tetrade. In a networking or telecommunication context, the nibble is ofte ...
*
Opcode In computing, an opcode (abbreviated from operation code, also known as instruction machine code, instruction code, instruction syllable, instruction parcel or opstring) is the portion of a machine language instruction that specifies the opera ...
* Opstring * Parcel (computing) * Syllable (in linguistics) *
Word (computer architecture) In computing, a word is the natural unit of data used by a particular processor design. A word is a fixed-sized datum handled as a unit by the instruction set or the hardware of the processor. The number of bits or digits in a word (the ''word ...


References

Computing terminology Data unit Units of information {{compu-stub