Britannica AI Icon

bus

computer science
Also known as: port

Quick Summary

In computer science, a bus is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. It is a collection of electrical pathways that connect various hardware components, allowing them to exchange information.

One crucial type of bus is the address bus. This element within a computer's central processing unit (CPU) transmits the location of stored information. When the CPU needs to access data from memory, the address bus specifies precisely where that data is located. This is distinct from the data bus, which handles the actual transfer of data once the location is known.1

Buses can be classified as serial or parallel. Parallel buses use multiple wires to transfer data simultaneously, increasing throughput, while serial buses transfer data one bit at a time. The Universal Serial Bus (USB) is a common example of a serial bus that can also transmit power.2

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.