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In computing jargon, the bit bucket (or byte bucket) is where lost
Bit Bucket entry from The Jargon File (version 4.4.7)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bit Bucket Computer jargon Punched card
In computing jargon, the bit bucket (or byte bucket) is where lost computer
A computer is a machine that can be programmed to Execution (computing), carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as C ...
ized data has gone, by any means; any data which does not end up where it is supposed to, being lost in transmission
Transmission may refer to:
Medicine, science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual transmission
*** ...
, a computer crash, or the like, is said to have gone to the bit bucket – that mysterious place on a computer where lost data goes, as in:
History
Originally, the bit bucket was the container on teletype machines or IBM key punch machines into whichchad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
from the paper tape
Five- and eight-hole punched paper tape
Paper tape reader on the Harwell computer with a small piece of five-hole tape connected in a circle – creating a physical program loop
Punched tape or perforated paper tape is a form of data storage ...
punch or card punch was deposited; the formal name is "chad box" or (at IBM) " chip box". The term was then generalized into any place where useless bits go, a useful computing concept known as the null device. The term bit bucket is also used in discussions of bit shift operation
In computer programming, a bitwise operation operates on a bit string, a bit array or a binary numeral (considered as a bit string) at the level of its individual bits. It is a fast and simple action, basic to the higher-level arithmetic oper ...
s.
The bit bucket is related to the first in never out buffer and write-only memory, in a joke datasheet issued by Signetics in 1972.
In a 1988 April Fool's article in '' Compute!'' magazine, Atari BASIC author Bill Wilkinson presented a POKE that implemented what he called a "WORN" (Write Once, Read Never) device, "a close relative of the WORM".
In programming languages the term is used to denote a bitstream which does not consume any computer resources, such as CPU
A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU performs basic arithmetic, logic, controlling, and ...
or memory, by discarding any data "written" to it. In .NET Framework
The .NET Framework (pronounced as "''dot net"'') is a proprietary software framework developed by Microsoft that runs primarily on Microsoft Windows. It was the predominant implementation of the Common Language Infrastructure (CLI) until bein ...
-based languages, it is the ''System.IO.Stream.Null''.
See also
* Black hole (networking) * Waste container metaphorsReferences
External links
Bit Bucket entry from The Jargon File (version 4.4.7)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bit Bucket Computer jargon Punched card