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The word byte was coined around 1956 to 1957 at [[MIT Lincoln Laboratory|MIT Lincoln Laboratories]] within a project called [[Experimental SAGE Subsector|SAGE]] (the North American Air Defense System), which was jointly developed by [[Rand Corporation|Rand]], Lincoln Labs, and [[IBM]]. In that era, computer memory structure was already defined in terms of [[word size (computing)|word size]]. A word consisted of x number of [[bit]]s; a bit represented a binary notational position in a word. Operations typically operated on all the bits in the full word. |
The word byte was coined around 1956 to 1957 at [[MIT Lincoln Laboratory|MIT Lincoln Laboratories]] within a project called [[Experimental SAGE Subsector|SAGE]] (the North American Air Defense System), which was jointly developed by [[Rand Corporation|Rand]], Lincoln Labs, and [[IBM]]. In that era, computer memory structure was already defined in terms of [[word size (computing)|word size]]. A word consisted of x number of [[bit]]s; a bit represented a binary notational position in a word. Operations typically operated on all the bits in the full word. |
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We coined the word byte to refer to a logical set of bits less than a full word size. At that time, it was not defined specifically as x bits but typically referred to as a set of [[Nibble (computing)|4 bits]], as that was the size of most of our coded data items. Shortly afterward, I went on to other responsibilities that removed me from SAGE. After having spent many years in Asia, I returned to the U.S. and was bemused to find out that the word byte was being used in the new microcomputer technology to refer to the basic addressable memory unit.}} |
We coined the word byte to refer to a logical set of bits less than a full word size. At that time, it was not defined specifically as x bits but typically referred to as a set of [[Nibble (computing)|4 bits]], as that was the size of most of our coded data items. Shortly afterward, I went on to other responsibilities that removed me from SAGE. After having spent many years in Asia, I returned to the U.S. and was bemused to find out that the word byte was being used in the new microcomputer technology to refer to the basic addressable memory unit.}} |
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NB. According to his son, [[Talk:Byte/Archive_1#Not_%22to_bite%22_but_%22a_bite%22|Dooley wrote to him]]: [ |
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https://en.wikipedia.org/?diffonly=1&oldid=29176497&diff=29177140 |
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On good days, we would have the [[IBM XD-1|XD-1]] up and running and all the programs doing the right thing, and we then had some time to just sit and talk idly, as we waited for the computer to finish doing its thing. On one such occasion, I coined the word "byte", they ([[Jules Schwartz]] and Dick Beeler) liked it, and we began using it amongst ourselves. The origin of the word was a need for referencing only a part of the word length of the computer, but a part larger than just one bit...Many programs had to access just a specific [[Nibble (computing)|4-bit]] segment of the full word...I wanted a name for this smaller segment of the fuller word. The word "[[bit]]" lead to "[[bite]]" (meaningfully less than the whole), but for a unique spelling, "i" could be "y", and thus the word "byte" was born. ] |
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