4 ms·
Words aeem to be always 16 bits for the x86 and derivatives - see the data types section of the software developer manual.
by tom_ 4y ago
Words aeem to be always 16 bits for the x86 and derivatives - see the data types section of the software developer manual.
- dragonwriter 4y agoI think "word" as a datatype evolved from its original and more general computing meaning of "the natural unit of data used by a processor design" (the thing we talk about with an "x-bit processor") to "16 bits" during the period of 16-bit dominance and the explosion of computing that was happening around it. Essentially, enough stuff got written assume=ing that "word" was 16 bits (and double word, quad word, etc., had their obvious relationship) that even though the term had not previously been fixed, it would break the world to let it change, even as processors with larger word sizes (in the "natural unit of data" sense) became available, then popular, then dominant.