bitstroom

Bitstroom is a term used in information technology to denote a continuous sequence of binary digits, or bits, as they are produced, transmitted, or processed at the lowest level of a digital system. Unlike byte-oriented data models, a bitstroom emphasizes bit-level timing, synchronization, and rate, and it may be analyzed or manipulated without assuming fixed-byte boundaries. The term is seen in both general discussions of bit-level data streams and in Dutch-language technical literature where bitstroom is used interchangeable with bitstream.

In practice, a bitstroom may refer to raw bit sequences produced by a digital source, such as a modulator, a sensor, or a serializer, and consumed by a destination that must reassemble framing or higher-layer constructs. Encoding schemes (NRZ, Manchester, etc.) and line coding affect the apparent structure of a bitstroom, introducing concepts such as clock recovery and bit-error rate measurement. Bitstroom interfaces can be synchronous or asynchronous, involving framing, preambles, or synchronization patterns to indicate boundaries within the stream.

Applications include modeling and simulation of communication channels, hardware design for serializers/deserializers, and low-level data tracing where byte boundaries are not assumed. Related concepts include bitstream, data stream, framing, and transmission line coding.

This article uses bitstroom as a neutral descriptor for a continuous, low-level bit sequence and does not assign a single standardized definition beyond the general notion of bit-level streaming.