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Word mark (computer hardware)
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<p>In computer hardware, a word mark or flag is a bit in each memory location on some early <a href="/facts/Variable_word_length_computer/2e5umRaj">variable word length computers</a> (e.g., <a href="/facts/IBM_1401/SrdHgTWx">IBM 1401</a>, <a href="/facts/IBM_1410/JnYxAHWE">1410</a>, <a href="/facts/IBM_1620/yRqdvqt0">1620</a>) used to mark the end of a <a href="/facts/Word_(computer_architecture)/2e5umRaj">word</a>. Sometimes the actual bit used as a word mark on a given machine is not called <i>word mark</i>, but has a different name (e.g., <i>flag</i> on the IBM 1620, because on this machine it is multipurpose). </p><p>The term <i>word mark</i> should not be confused with <a href="/facts/Groupmark_character/5obwN7hT">group mark</a> or with <a href="/facts/Recordmark_character/5obwN7hT">record mark</a>, which are distinct characters. </p>