Bit slicing
Method of constructing a computer processor / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Bit-banding.
This article is about the processor construction technique. For bit slicing as bit plane separation used in computer graphics and image processing, see Bit plane.
Bit slicing is a technique for constructing a processor from modules of processors of smaller bit width, for the purpose of increasing the word length; in theory to make an arbitrary n-bit central processing unit (CPU). Each of these component modules processes one bit field or "slice" of an operand. The grouped processing components would then have the capability to process the chosen full word-length of a given software design.
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Bit slicing more or less died out due to the advent of the microprocessor. Recently it has been used in arithmetic logic units (ALUs) for quantum computers and as a software technique, e.g. for cryptography in x86 CPUs.[1]