bit bang
Transmission of data on a serial line accomplished by rapidly changing a single
output bit, in software, at the appropriate times. The technique is a simple
loop with eight OUT and SHIFT instruction pairs for each byte. Input is more
interesting. And full-duplex (doing input and output at the same time) is one
way to separate the real hackers from the wannabees.
Bit bang was used on certain early models of Prime computers, presumably when
UARTs were too expensive, and on archaic Zilog Z80 micros with a Zilog PIO but
no SIO. In an interesting instance of the cycle of reincarnation, this technique
is now (1991) coming back into use on some RISC architectures because it
consumes such an infinitesimal part of the processor that it actually makes
sense not to have a UART.
[Jargon File]
Nearby terms:
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