<architecture, networking> A set of electrical conductors (wires, PCB tracks or connections in an integrated circuit) connecting various "stations", which can be functional units in a computer or nodes in a network. A bus is a broadcast channel, meaning that each station receives every other station's transmissions and all stations have equal access to the bus.
Various schemes have been invented to solve the problem of collisions: multiple stations trying to transmit at once, e.g. CSMA/CD, bus master.
The term is almost certainly derived from the electrical engineering term "bus bar" - a substantial, rigid power supply conductor to which several connections are made. This was once written "'bus bar" as it was a contraction of "omnibus bar" - a connection bar "for all", by analogy with the passenger omnibus - a conveyance "for all".
See computer bus or bus network.
(2009-07-16)
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Nearby terms: Burst Extended Data Out DRAM « burst page « Burst Static Random Access Memory « bus » bus error » Bush, Vannevar » Business Analyst
Copyright 2010 Denis Howe