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In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, bucky bit in a binary representation of a character, is a bit
Bit

A bit is a binary numeral system numerical digit, taking a value of either 0 or 1. Binary digits are a basic unit of information Computer data storage and transmission in digital computing and digital information theory....
 that is set by pressing on a computer keyboard additional modifier key
Modifier key

In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
, other than ordinary shift key
Shift key

The shift key is a modifier key on a alphanumeric keyboard, used to type majuscule and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row....
.

ing a bucky bit changes the output character. A bucky bit allows to type a wider variety of characters and commands while maintaining a reasonable number of keys on a keyboard.

The keys corresponding to bucky bits on modern keyboards are the alt key
Alt key

The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key....
, control key
Control key

In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself....
, meta key
Meta key

The Meta key was a special key on old Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer keyboards, such as the Space-cadet keyboard. Sun Microsystems keyboards continue to include a Meta key, marked as a solid diamond....
, command key
Command key

The Command key, also historically known as the Apple key or open-Apple key, is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. An "extended" Macintosh keyboard?the most common type?has two command keys, one on each side of the space bar; some compact keyboards have one only on the left....
 , and option key
Option key

The 'Option key' is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. For desktop keyboards, there are usually two, while a laptop may have only one to make room for the arrow keys....
.

In ASCII
ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange , is a coding standard that can be used for interchanging information, if the information is expressed mainly by the written form of English words....
, bucky bit is usually the 8th bit (also known as meta bit).






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In computing
Computing

Computing is usually defined as the activity of using and developing computer technology, computer hardware and computer software. It is the computer-specific part of information technology....
, bucky bit in a binary representation of a character, is a bit
Bit

A bit is a binary numeral system numerical digit, taking a value of either 0 or 1. Binary digits are a basic unit of information Computer data storage and transmission in digital computing and digital information theory....
 that is set by pressing on a computer keyboard additional modifier key
Modifier key

In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....
, other than ordinary shift key
Shift key

The shift key is a modifier key on a alphanumeric keyboard, used to type majuscule and other alternate "upper" characters. There are typically two shift keys, on the left and right sides of the row below the home row....
.

Overview

Setting a bucky bit changes the output character. A bucky bit allows to type a wider variety of characters and commands while maintaining a reasonable number of keys on a keyboard.

The keys corresponding to bucky bits on modern keyboards are the alt key
Alt key

The Alt key on a computer keyboard is used to change the function of other pressed keys. Thus, the Alt key is a modifier key, used in a similar fashion to the Shift key....
, control key
Control key

In computing, a Control key is a modifier key which, when pressed in conjunction with another key, will perform a special operation ; similar to the Shift key, the Control key rarely performs any function when pressed by itself....
, meta key
Meta key

The Meta key was a special key on old Massachusetts Institute of Technology computer keyboards, such as the Space-cadet keyboard. Sun Microsystems keyboards continue to include a Meta key, marked as a solid diamond....
, command key
Command key

The Command key, also historically known as the Apple key or open-Apple key, is a modifier key present on Apple Keyboards. An "extended" Macintosh keyboard?the most common type?has two command keys, one on each side of the space bar; some compact keyboards have one only on the left....
 , and option key
Option key

The 'Option key' is a modifier key present on Apple keyboards. It is located between the Control key and Command key on a typical Mac keyboard. For desktop keyboards, there are usually two, while a laptop may have only one to make room for the arrow keys....
.

In ASCII
ASCII

American Standard Code for Information Interchange , is a coding standard that can be used for interchanging information, if the information is expressed mainly by the written form of English words....
, bucky bit is usually the 8th bit (also known as meta bit). However, in older character representations wider than 8 bits, more high bits could be used as bucky bits. In modern X Window, bucky bits are bits 18-23 of an event code.

History

The term was invented at Stanford and is based on Niklaus Wirth
Niklaus Wirth

Niklaus Emil Wirth is a Switzerland computer science, best known for designing several programming languages, including Pascal , and for pioneering several classic topics in software engineering....
's nickname "Bucky". Niklaus Wirth was first to suggest an EDIT key to set the eighth bit of a 7-bit ASCII character sometime in 1964 or 1965.

Bucky bits were used heavily on keyboards designed by Tom Knight in MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private university research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Massachusetts, United States....
, including space-cadet keyboard
Space-cadet keyboard

The Space-cadet keyboard is a device used on MIT Lisp machines and designed by Tom Knight , which inspired several still-current jargon terms in the field of computer science and influenced the design of Emacs....
s used on LISP machine
Lisp machine

Lisp machines were general-purpose computers designed to efficiently run Lisp programming language as their main programming language. In a sense, they were the first commercial single-user Computer workstation....
s. These could contain as many modifier keys as: SHIFT, CTRL, META, HYPER, SUPER, TOP, FRONT, and GREEK.

See also

  • ASCII
    ASCII

    American Standard Code for Information Interchange , is a coding standard that can be used for interchanging information, if the information is expressed mainly by the written form of English words....
  • Space-cadet keyboard
    Space-cadet keyboard

    The Space-cadet keyboard is a device used on MIT Lisp machines and designed by Tom Knight , which inspired several still-current jargon terms in the field of computer science and influenced the design of Emacs....
  • Modifier key
    Modifier key

    In computing, a modifier key is a special key on a computer keyboard that modifies the normal action of another key when the two are pressed in combination....


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