Microcom Networking Protocol problem, additional "framing" bits are added to either end of every byte, typically one bit on either side known as the "start and stop bits". This guarantees at least one 1-to-0 transition for every byte, more than enough to keep the clocks locked. However, these bits also expand every 8 bits of data (one byte) to 10 bits, an overhead of 20%. When using a file transfer protocol, the packets themselves offer their own framing. The packets will always send a continuous stream of data, so the clock cannot "drift" in the same way that it could for data being
Byte addressing be achieved in one instruction: store this character code at that byte address. Text programs are easier to write, smaller, and run faster. The advantage of word addressing is that more memory can be addressed in the same number of bits. The IBM 7094 has 15-bit addresses, so could address 32,768 words of 36 bits. The machines were often built with a full complement of addressable memory. Addressing 32,768 bytes of 6 bits would have been much less useful for scientific and engineering users. Or consider the 32-bit Pentium processor. Its 32-bit address bus can address 4 billion different items.