Computer number format with a specific number of bits are used to represent varying things and have specific names. A "byte" is a bit string containing the number of bits needed to represent a character. On most modern computers, this is an eight bit string. Because the definition of a byte is related to the number of bits composing a character, some older computers have used a different bit length for their byte. In many computer architectures, the byte is used to address specific areas of memory. For example, even though 64-bit processors may address memory sixty-four bits at a time, they may
Reliable byte stream Reliable byte stream A reliable byte stream is a common service paradigm in computer networking; it refers to a byte stream in which the bytes which emerge from the communication channel at the recipient are exactly the same, and in exactly the same order, as they were when the sender inserted them into the channel. The classic example of a reliable byte stream communication protocol is the Transmission Control Protocol, one of the major building blocks of the Internet. A reliable byte stream is not the only reliable service paradigm which computer network communication protocols provide, however; other protocols (e.g.