Byte of the 8080 and the 8086, used in early personal computers, could also perform a small number of operations on the four-bit pairs in a byte, such as the decimal-add-adjust (DAA) instruction. A four-bit quantity is often called a nibble, also "nybble", which is conveniently represented by a single hexadecimal digit. The term "octet" is used to unambiguously specify a size of eight bits. It is used extensively in protocol definitions. Historically, the term "octad" or "octade" was used to denote eight bits as well at least in Western Europe; however, this usage is no longer common. The exact origin
Mask (computing) Mask (computing) In computer science, a mask is data that is used for bitwise operations, particularly in a bit field. Using a mask, multiple bits in a byte, nibble, word etc. can be set either on, off or inverted from on to off (or vice versa) in a single bitwise operation. To turn certain bits on, the bitwise codice_2 operation can be used, following the principle that codice_3 and codice_4. Therefore, to make sure a bit is on, codice_2 can be used with a codice_1. To leave a bit unchanged, codice_2 is used with a codice_8. Example: Masking "on" the