<data, architecture> The ordering of bytes in a multi-byte
number.
The term comes from Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" via the
famous paper "On Holy Wars and a Plea for Peace" by Danny
Cohen, USC/ISI IEN 137, 1980-04-01.
The Lilliputians, being very small, had correspondingly small
political problems. The Big-Endian and Little-Endian parties
debated over whether soft-boiled eggs should be opened at the
big end or the little end.
See big-endian, little-endian, middle-endian, holy
wars, NUXI problem, swab.
(1998-08-09)
Nearby terms:
encode « encoder « encryption « -endian » endless loop » End Of Line » End of Medium
