Re: The Apple ][ was cool!

[Christer Palm <palm@nogui.se>]

william strutts wrote:
> 
> The data bus was definitely 8-bit hence we had 8-bit ISA slots
> which to me would say that the machine is an 8-bit computer.
> With the advent of the 286 AT, we had 16-bit data bus which
> lead us to the new standard 16-bit ISA slots.   The perception
> of the original XT was that it was an 8-bit compter.  Or more
> precisely stated an 8/16 bit computer and the 286 AT was a
> 16-bit computer.
> 

IMHO, the PC/XT/AT's were clearly 16-bit computers.

One shouldn't start to look at memory and I/O bus widths when talking
about the bit-ness of a computer. In any modern architechture, these
will vary wildely - 256 bit memory busses are not uncommon, while I/O
busses are still mostly 32 bits - even in some 64-bit machines.

The bit-ness is popularly defined by the largest data operand that the
processor can internally operate on with "base" efficiency, or basically
the width of the processors internal data bus. I.e. 8 bits for the 6809,
16 bits for the 8086 - 80286 and 68000, 32 bits for the 80386-.

--
Christer Palm