Why is a chuck of working memory called a “buffer”?
The word ‘buffer’, by the way, comes from the meaning of the word as a cushion that deadens the force of a collision. In early computers, a buffer cushioned the interaction between files and the computer’s central processing unit. The drums or tapes that held a file and the central processing unit were pieces of equipment that were very different from each other, working at their own speeds, in spurts. The buffer made it possible for them to work together effectively. Eventually, the buffer grew from being an intermediary, a temporary holding place, to being the place where work is done. This transformation is rather like that of a small seaport that grew into a great city: once it was merely the place where cargo was warehoused temporarily before being loaded onto ships; then it became a business and cultural center in its own right.
From An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp. The same book explains two meanings of “argument”.
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Vinod Khare 10.25.10 at 14:55
I encountered the word ‘buffer’ in chemistry before I did in software. In chemistry, a buffer is a solution which maintains a certain pH value even when you add an acid or base to it (up to a certain limit, of course).
Shawna Kennedy 10.25.10 at 19:34
I, too, thought that the use of “buffer” in computing was based on the use of “buffer” in chemistry. That is, something (solution or memory) that maintains a certain condition (pH or working status) unless overloaded.
Peter Lund 11.02.10 at 12:41
A buffer in chemistry also “protects” against shocks or changes, just like the buffers on trains. The train buffers seem to be more or less the original ones. m-w.com claims this origin: “buff, verb, to react like a soft body when struck
First Known Use: 1835″.
Egdares Futch 03.24.11 at 11:02
In some translations of Computer Science texts to Spanish, the word “buffer” gets translated to “tampon”, whose definition matches that of “ink pad”.