system that transfers data between components within a computer
AI overview
A bus is a system of wires and protocols that allows different parts of a computer—like the processor, memory, and storage devices—to communicate and exchange data with each other. It matters because without a bus, these components couldn't work together to perform the tasks that make your computer function.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
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Four PCI Express bus card slots (from top to second from bottom: ×4, ×16, ×1 and ×16), compared to a 32-bit conventional PCI bus card slot (very bottom)
In computer architecture, a bus (historically also called a data highway or databus) is a communication system that transfers data between components inside a computer or between computers. It encompasses both hardware (e.g., wires, optical fiber) and software, including communication protocols. At its core, a bus is a shared physical pathway, typically composed of wires or traces on a circuit board, that allows multiple devices to communicate. To prevent conflicts and ensure orderly data exchange, buses rely on a communication protocol to manage which device can transmit data at a given time.