:mode bit: n. A {flag}, usually in hardware, that selects between
two (usually quite different) modes of operation. The connotations
are different from {flag} bit in that mode bits are mainly
written during a boot or set-up phase, are seldom explicitly read,
and seldom change over the lifetime of an ordinary program. The
classic example was the EBCDIC-vs.-ASCII bit (#12) of the Program
Status Word of the IBM 360. Another was the bit on a PDP-12 that
controlled whether it ran the PDP-8 or the LINC instruction set.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
two (usually quite different) modes of operation. The connotations
are different from {flag} bit in that mode bits are mainly
written during a boot or set-up phase, are seldom explicitly read,
and seldom change over the lifetime of an ordinary program. The
classic example was the EBCDIC-vs.-ASCII bit (#12) of the Program
Status Word of the IBM 360. Another was the bit on a PDP-12 that
controlled whether it ran the PDP-8 or the LINC instruction set.
-- The AI Hackers Dictionary
Related:
- mode bit n.
[common] A flag, usually in hardware,
that selects between two (usually quite different)... - flag: n. A variable or quantity that can take on one of two
values;
a bit, particularly one that is used to indicate one... - flag n.
[very common] A variable or quantity that can
take on one of two values;
a bit, particularly one that is used to indicate... - frogging: [University of Waterloo] v. 1. Partial corruption of a
text file or input stream by some bug or consistent glitch,
as opposed to random events like line noise or media... - twiddle: n. 1. Tilde (ASCII 1111110, `~'). Also
called `squiggle',
`sqiggle' (sic --- pronounced /skig'l/), and `twaddle'... - golf-ball printer: n. The IBM 2741, a slow but letter-quality
printing device and terminal based on the IBM Selectric
typewriter.
The `golf ball' was a little spherical frob bearing... - bit bashing: n. (alt. `bit diddling' or {bit twiddling}) Term
used to describe any of several kinds of low-level programming
characterized by manipulation of {bit},
{flag}, {nybble}, and other smaller-than-character... - Introducing, the 1010, a one-bit processor.
INSTRUCTION SET Code Mnemonic What 0 NOP No Operation... - bit n.
[from the mainstream meaning and `Binary digIT']
1.
[techspeak] The unit of information; the amount of...
