3  definitions  found 
 
  From  WordNet  r  1.6  [wn]: 
 
  baud 
  n  :  (computer  science)  a  data  transmission  rate  (bits/second) 
  for  modems  [syn:  {baud  rate}] 
 
  From  Jargon  File  (4.2.3,  23  NOV  2000)  [jargon]: 
 
  baud  /bawd/  n.  [simplified  from  its  technical  meaning]  n.  Bits 
  per  second  Hence  kilobaud  or  Kbaud  thousands  of  bits  per  second 
  The  technical  meaning  is  `level  transitions  per  second';  this  coincides 
  with  bps  only  for  two-level  modulation  with  no  framing  or  stop  bits. 
  Most  hackers  are  aware  of  these  nuances  but  blithely  ignore  them 
 
  Historical  note:  `baud'  was  originally  a  unit  of  telegraph 
  signalling  speed,  set  at  one  pulse  per  second  It  was  proposed  at  the 
  November,  1926  conference  of  the  Comite'  Consultatif  International  Des 
  Communications  Te'le'graphiques  as  an  improvement  on  the  then  standard 
  practice  of  referring  to  line  speeds  in  terms  of  words  per  minute,  and 
  named  for  Jean  Maurice  Emile  Baudot  (1845-1903),  a  French  engineer  who 
  did  a  lot  of  pioneering  work  in  early  teleprinters. 
 
 
 
  From  The  Free  On-line  Dictionary  of  Computing  (13  Mar  01)  [foldoc]: 
 
  baud 
 
    /bawd/  (plural  "baud")  The  unit  in 
  which  the  information  carrying  capacity  or  "{signalling  rate}" 
  of  a  communication  channel  is  measured.  One  baud  is  one 
  symbol  (state-transition  or  level-transition)  per  second 
  This  coincides  with  bits  per  second  only  for  two-level 
  {modulation}  with  no  {framing}  or  {stop  bits}. 
 
  A  symbol  is  a  unique  state  of  the  communication  channel, 
  distinguishable  by  the  receiver  from  all  other  possible 
  states.  For  example,  it  may  be  one  of  two  voltage  levels  on  a 
  wire  for  a  direct  digital  connection  or  it  might  be  the  phase 
  or  frequency  of  a  carrier. 
 
  The  term  baud"  was  originally  a  unit  of  telegraph  signalling 
  speed,  set  at  one  {Morse  code}  dot  per  second  Or  more 
  generally,  the  reciprocal  of  the  duration  of  the  shortest 
  signalling  element.  It  was  proposed  at  the  International 
  Telegraph  Conference  of  1927,  and  named  after  {J.M.E.  Baudot} 
  (1845-1903),  the  French  engineer  who  constructed  the  first 
  successful  teleprinter. 
 
  The  UK  {PSTN}  will  support  a  maximum  rate  of  600  baud  but  each 
  baud  may  carry  between  1  and  16  bits  depending  on  the  coding 
  (e.g.  {QAM}). 
 
  Where  data  is  transmitted  as  {packets},  e.g.  characters,  the 
  actual  "data  rate"  of  a  channel  is 
 
  R  D  /  P 
 
  where  R  is  the  raw"  rate  in  bits  per  second  D  is  the  number 
  of  data  bits  in  a  packet  and  P  is  the  total  number  of  bits  in 
  a  packet  (including  packet  overhead). 
 
  The  term  baud"  causes  much  confusion  and  is  usually  best 
  avoided.  Use  "bits  per  second"  (bps),  "bytes  per  second"  or 
  "characters  per  second"  (cps)  if  that's  what  you  mean 
 
  (1998-02-14) 
 
 

browse words by letter
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
or search   thesauri dictionary search words