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36-bit computing
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<p>In <a href="/facts/Computer_architecture/tHtwxgR2">computer architecture</a>, 36-bit <a href="/facts/Integer_(computer_science)/zWabo5M9">integers</a>, <a href="/facts/Memory_address/7EsUmbea">memory addresses</a>, or other <a href="/facts/Data_(computing)/cPjfFHph">data</a> units are those that are 36 <a href="/facts/Bit/S972NSaD">bits</a> (six six-bit characters) wide. Also, 36-bit <a href="/facts/Central_processing_unit/Jxp1bqMV">central processing unit</a> (CPU) and <a href="/facts/Arithmetic_logic_unit/SgIjPzSc">arithmetic logic unit</a> (ALU) architectures are those that are based on <a href="/facts/Processor_register/32RvbUdz">registers</a>, <a href="/facts/Address_bus/R45TKwS7">address buses</a>, or <a href="/facts/Bus_(computing)/R45TKwS7">data buses</a> of that size. 36-bit computers were popular in the early <a href="/facts/Mainframe_computer/nrBR6rWa">mainframe computer</a> era from the 1950s through the early 1970s. </p> <p>Starting in the 1960s, but especially the 1970s, the introduction of 7-bit <a href="/facts/ASCII/vGUI33Qu">ASCII</a> and 8-bit <a href="/facts/EBCDIC/qAhmvgj0">EBCDIC</a> led to the move to machines using <a href="/facts/8-bit_computing/2CkhLNoH">8-bit</a> bytes, with word sizes that were multiples of 8, notably the <a href="/facts/32-bit_computing/TDMVce8s">32-bit</a> <a href="/facts/IBM_System%2f360/7znvpy4K">IBM System/360</a> <a href="/facts/Mainframe_computer/nrBR6rWa">mainframe</a> and <a href="/facts/VAX/N3r13IHH">Digital Equipment VAX</a> and <a href="/facts/Data_General_Eclipse_MV%2f8000/RQsQBvPj">Data General MV series</a> <a href="/facts/Superminicomputer/MkAxa8fs">superminicomputers</a>. By the mid-1970s the conversion was largely complete, and <a href="/facts/Microprocessor/Fx9CaQht">microprocessors</a> quickly moved from 8-bit to 16-bit to 32-bit over a period of a decade. The number of 36-bit machines rapidly fell during this period, offered largely for <a href="/facts/Backward_compatibility/FbHFBu5y">backward compatibility</a> purposes running <a href="/facts/Legacy_system/YvYjMcCz">legacy programs</a>. </p>