bitmap display
bitmap display
(hardware)A computer output device where each pixel
displayed on the monitor screen corresponds directly to one
or more bits in the computer's video memory. Such a
display can be updated extremely rapidly since changing a
pixel involves only a single processor write to memory
compared with a terminal or VDU connected via a serial
line where the speed of the serial line limits the speed at
which the display can be changed.
Most modern personal computers and workstations have bitmap displays, allowing the efficient use of graphical user interfaces, interactive graphics and a choice of on-screen fonts. Some more expensive systems still delegate graphics operations to dedicated hardware such as graphics accelerators.
The bitmap display might be traced back to the earliest days of computing when the Manchester University Mark I(?) computer, developed by F.C. Williams and T. Kilburn shortly after the Second World War. This used a storage tube as its working memory. Phosphor dots were used to store single bits of data which could be read by the user and interpreted as binary numbers.
Most modern personal computers and workstations have bitmap displays, allowing the efficient use of graphical user interfaces, interactive graphics and a choice of on-screen fonts. Some more expensive systems still delegate graphics operations to dedicated hardware such as graphics accelerators.
The bitmap display might be traced back to the earliest days of computing when the Manchester University Mark I(?) computer, developed by F.C. Williams and T. Kilburn shortly after the Second World War. This used a storage tube as its working memory. Phosphor dots were used to store single bits of data which could be read by the user and interpreted as binary numbers.
This article is provided by FOLDOC - Free Online Dictionary of Computing (foldoc.org)