-endian
<data, architecture> The ordering of bytes in a multi-byte number.
The term comes from Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" via the famous paper "On Holy
Wars and a Plea for Peace" by Danny Cohen, USC/ISI IEN 137, 1980-04-01.
The Lilliputians, being very small, had correspondingly small political
problems. The Big-Endian and Little-Endian parties debated over whether
soft-boiled eggs should be opened at the big end or the little end.
See big-endian, little-endian, middle-endian, holy wars, NUXI problem, swab.
(1998-08-09)
Nearby terms:
encode « encoder « encryption « -endian » endless
loop » End Of Line » End of Medium
