[OT] Why is it called string?

[Sean Ross]

"Greg Krohn" <ask at me.com> wrote in message
news:q_61b.1904$Ej6.268 at newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net...
>
> <P at draigBrady.com> wrote in message
news:3F44DBF2.1010403 at draigBrady.com...
> ...
> > bit is a contraction of "Binary digIT"
> > byte is a pun on the word bit (8 bits)
> > nibble is a pun on the word byte (4 bits)
>
> I could swear there where more of these. Isn't there one for 2 bits and
> 32bits, etc?


This lists several, but there are others: for instance, I seem to recall
seeing trio, quartet, quintet, etc. used somewhere...

2 bits: crumb, quad, quarter, tayste, tydbit, morsel
4 bits: nybble, nibble
5 bits: nickle
10 bits: deckle
16 bits: playte, chawmp (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 16-bit machine),
half-word (on a 32-bit machine).
18 bits: chawmp (on a 36-bit machine), half-word (on a 36-bit machine)
32 bits: dynner, gawble (on a 32-bit machine), word (on a 32-bit machine),
longword (on a 16-bit machine).
36 bits: word (on a 36-bit machine)
48 bits: gawble (under circumstances that remain obscure)
64 bits: double word (on a 32-bit machine) quad (on a 16-bit machine)
128 bits: quad (on a 32-bit machine)

from: http://developer.syndetic.org/query_jargon.pl?term=nybble


Sean