• Xanthrax@lemmy.world
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      11 hours ago

      It’s on the chips. It’s similar to a data switch, but on a waaaaaaay smaller scale. If you have an Android device, it’s in there.

      We’ve argued about this a lot. He doesn’t like to call them that.

      I have half of an idea as to what I’m talking about, I am NOT an electrical engineer.

      The term “electronic switch” is so old. He doesn’t like to use it anymore. Saying “data” helps specify what you’re talking about, but it’s a misnomer because the switch may serve another function. It’s a whole thing, man.

      • RubberElectrons@lemmy.world
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        9 hours ago

        Gonna guess this is related to what he’s talking about: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_register

        They actually move bits of data in and out of the CPU/ram once per ‘tick’ of the system-wide clock, which is usually ticking in the GHz range.

        Software will handle decisions on what bits/bytes to move where, the registers are where data is electronically modified, the shifters actually move the bytes in and out.