| Term | Abbrev | Description |
|
Bit |
b |
Binary digit. A single digit binary value, capable of holding the values zero or one. |
|
Nybble |
In computer systems with an 8-bit byte (by far the most common size), the term nybble was coined in the late '70s to represent half a byte - 4 bits, as the number of bits needed to store the equivalent of one hexadecimal digit (or one decimal digit in BCD - Binary Coded Decimal - notation). |
|
|
Byte |
B |
A collection of bits of the size needed to store a single character in a computer. These days a byte is almost universally 8 bits. |
|
Word |
W |
Originally defined as the smallest directly addressable unit of computer storage, now perhaps best defined as the most performance-effective directly addressable unit of storage, since most modern instruction sets can directly address to the byte level. Commonly (and confusingly) also used to refer to 16-bit quantities - even on computers that have a 32- or 64-bit internal architecture. |
| MIPS | MIPS | Millions of Instructions Per Second - a measure of computer speed. Since the instruction sets of different CPUs are not the same, and given the wide variety of uses to which computers are put, this term is often also given as "Meaningless Indication of Processor Speed". |
|
Baud |
baud or bd |
A unit representing the number of phase transitions per second on a device carrying serial digital signals. Often loosely used to mean "bits per second" although the two terms are not actually synonymous. |
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