bus

An electronic pathway along which signals are sent from one part of a computer to another. A PC contains several buses, each used for a different purpose:

• The address bus allocates memory addresses.
• The data bus carries data between the processor and memory.
• The control bus carries signals from the control unit.

See also architecture; Extended Industry Standard Architecture; Industry Standard Architecture; local bus; Microchannel Architecture; Peripheral Component Interconnect local bus.