1-bit computing: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:00, 20 August 2023

Revision as of 21:01, 20 August 2023

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In [[computer architecture]], '''1-bit''' [[integer (computer science)|integer]]s or other [[Data (computing)|data]] units are those that are {{nowrap|1 [[bit]]}} (1/8 [[octet (computing)|octet]]) wide. Also, 1-bit [[central processing unit]] (CPU) and [[arithmetic logic unit]] (ALU) architectures are those that are based on [[processor register|register]]s of that size.

There are no computers or [[microcontroller]]s of any kind that are exclusively 1-bit for all registers and [[address bus]]es. A 1-bit register can only store 2¹ different values, i.e. 0 or 1 (off or on, respectively). This is very restrictive and therefore not enough for a [[program counter]] which, on modern systems, is implemented in an on-chip register, thatbut isn'tis not implemented on-chip in some 1-bit systems. [[Opcode]]s for at least one 1-bit processor architecture were 4-bit and the address bus was 8-bit.

While 1-bit computing is mostly obsolete, 1-bit [[serial communication]] is still used in modern computers, that are otherwise e.g. 64-bit, and thus also have much larger buses.