Serial: Difference between revisions
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Covers the basics |
Also slang short form of 'serial line' |
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Examples are [[serial line]]s, which send one bit at a time along a [[conductor]] (using [[shift register]]s to convert data items to and from the serial form); and the [[arithmetic logic unit|ALU]] in a [[serial computer]]'s [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]], which would have only a single-bit adder, and to add two numbers, they are fed into it a bit at a time, one bit on each [[clock]] tick, starting with the least significant bit. | Examples are [[serial line]]s, which send one bit at a time along a [[conductor]] (using [[shift register]]s to convert data items to and from the serial form); and the [[arithmetic logic unit|ALU]] in a [[serial computer]]'s [[Central Processing Unit|CPU]], which would have only a single-bit adder, and to add two numbers, they are fed into it a bit at a time, one bit on each [[clock]] tick, starting with the least significant bit. | ||
'''Serial''' may also be a slang short form of 'serial line'. | |||
==See also== | |||
* [[Parallel]] | |||
[[Category: Hardware Basics]] | [[Category: Hardware Basics]] | ||
Latest revision as of 12:06, 22 April 2025
Serial describes a style of information processing where one bit is handled at a time, with successive bits in any data item (such as a word) being handled in later time slots.
Examples are serial lines, which send one bit at a time along a conductor (using shift registers to convert data items to and from the serial form); and the ALU in a serial computer's CPU, which would have only a single-bit adder, and to add two numbers, they are fed into it a bit at a time, one bit on each clock tick, starting with the least significant bit.
Serial may also be a slang short form of 'serial line'.
