bit n.
[from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT']
1. [techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of information
obtained by asking a yes-or-no question for which the two outcomes
are equally probable. 2. [techspeak] A computational quantity that
can take on one of two values, such as true and false or 0 and 1.
3. A mental flag: a reminder that something should be done
eventually. "I have a bit set for you." (I haven't seen you for
a while, and I'm supposed to tell or ask you something.) 4. More
generally, a (possibly incorrect) mental state of belief. "I have
a bit set that says that you were the last guy to hack on EMACS."
(Meaning "I think you were the last guy to hack on EMACS, and what
I am about to say is predicated on this, so please stop me if this
isn't true.")
"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating that
you intend only a short interruption for a question that can
presumably be answered yes or no.
A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and
`reset' or `clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of
setting and clearing bits. To toggle or `invert' a bit is
to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also
flag, trit, mode bit.
The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science
sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by early statistician
and computer scientist John Tukey. Tukey records that it evolved
over a lunch table as a handier alternative to `bigit' or
`binit'.
[from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT']
1. [techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of information
obtained by asking a yes-or-no question for which the two outcomes
are equally probable. 2. [techspeak] A computational quantity that
can take on one of two values, such as true and false or 0 and 1.
3. A mental flag: a reminder that something should be done
eventually. "I have a bit set for you." (I haven't seen you for
a while, and I'm supposed to tell or ask you something.) 4. More
generally, a (possibly incorrect) mental state of belief. "I have
a bit set that says that you were the last guy to hack on EMACS."
(Meaning "I think you were the last guy to hack on EMACS, and what
I am about to say is predicated on this, so please stop me if this
isn't true.")
"I just need one bit from you" is a polite way of indicating that
you intend only a short interruption for a question that can
presumably be answered yes or no.
A bit is said to be `set' if its value is true or 1, and
`reset' or `clear' if its value is false or 0. One speaks of
setting and clearing bits. To toggle or `invert' a bit is
to change it, either from 0 to 1 or from 1 to 0. See also
flag, trit, mode bit.
The term `bit' first appeared in print in the computer-science
sense in 1949, and seems to have been coined by early statistician
and computer scientist John Tukey. Tukey records that it evolved
over a lunch table as a handier alternative to `bigit' or
`binit'.
Related:
- toggle: vt. To change a {bit} from whatever state it is in to the
other state;
to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. This comes from... - toggle vt.
To change a bit from whatever state it is
in to the other state;
to change from 1 to 0 or from 0 to 1. This comes... - bit bucket n.
[very common] 1. The universal data sink
(originally,
the mythical receptacle used to catch bits when they... - bit-paired keyboard n.,obs.
(alt. `bit-shift
keyboard') A non-standard keyboard layout that seems to have
originated with the Teletype ASR-33 and remained common for several
years on early computer equipment.
The ASR-33 was a mechanical device (see EOU), so... - stack n.
The set of things a person has to do in the
future.
One speaks of the next project to be attacked as having... - trit /trit/ n.
[by analogy with `bit'] One base-3
digit;
the amount of information conveyed by a selection among... - trit: /trit/ [by analogy with `bit'] n. One base-3 digit;
the amount of information conveyed by a selection... - overflow bit: n. 1. [techspeak] A {flag} on some processors
indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large for a
register to hold.
2. More generally, an indication of any kind of ... - overflow bit n.
1. [techspeak] A flag on some
processors indicating an attempt to calculate a result too large
for a register to hold.
2. More generally, an indication of any kind of...
From the same category:
- fandango on core n.
[Unix/C hackers, from the Iberian
dance] In C,
a wild pointer that runs out of bounds, causing a ... - fd leak /F-D leek/ n.
A kind of programming bug analogous
to a core leak,
in which a program fails to close file descriptors... - Hanlon's Razor prov.
A corollary of Finagle's Law,
similar to Occam's Razor, that reads "Never attribute... - bozotic /boh-zoh'tik/ or /boh-zo'tik/ adj.
[from
the name of a TV clown even more losing than Ronald McDonald]
Resembling or having the quality of a bozo;
that is, clownish, ludicrously... - boxen /bok'sn/ pl.n.
[very common; by analogy with
VAXen] Fanciful plural of box often encountered in the
phrase `Unix boxen',
used to describe commodity Unix hardware. The connotation...
