Bitstroms

Bitstroms are continuous, temporally ordered sequences of binary digits that convey information in digital systems. The term combines 'bit' with 'strom' (German for current or flow), underscoring the notion of data as an ongoing stream rather than a collection of discrete messages. Bitstroms can be produced by sensors, encoders, or network protocols and consumed by decoders, processors, or display devices. They are distinguished from static data packets by their continuous timing and structural framing.

A bitstrom is typically serial and time-tagged, with a defined data rate that may be fixed or adaptively negotiated. Receivers synchronize using framing bits or clock information, and may employ error-detection or correction codes such as parity, checksums, or CRCs. Bitstroms can be synchronous, aligned to a shared clock, or asynchronous, using start and stop markers. They may be left unframed for raw transmission or segmented into frames with headers and trailers. Multiplexing can combine several bitstroms over a single channel, with inter-stream signaling to separate the streams.

Applications of bitstroms span digital media, real-time telemetry, and data communications. In streaming media, the playable content is carried as a bitstrom that is decoded on the client side. In communications, higher-layer protocols govern how bitstroms are shaped, routed, and error-managed. In hardware contexts, the closely related term bitstream refers to configuration data used to program devices such as field-programmable gate arrays; Bitstroms, by contrast, emphasize the flow of information through a system rather than static configuration payloads.

Related concepts include bitstream, streaming, serial communication, and data rate.