Darren New wrote:
> Almost everyone calls the processor the number of bits on the data bus, 
> fwiw, when talking about this stuff.  The 8088 was an 8-bit processor 
> and the 8086 was a 16-bit processor even tho they were 100% software 
> compatible.

I thought they called it the native register size?

Most registers in modern x86 chips are 32 bit or 64 bits, so they're 32 
or 64 bit CPUs.

I first heard about the 8088/8086 duo reading something in Intel's 
literature, and I'm pretty sure they stated that both were 16 bit chips, 
even though the 8088 had the castrated data bus.

Et cetera.

...Chambers

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