Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!rutgers!njin!princeton!mccc!pjh
From: pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg)
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.modems
Subject: Re: Bits, baud rate, and bps
Message-ID: <713@mccc.UUCP>
Date: 20 Jun 88 13:45:24 GMT
References: <KPETERSEN.12407361234.BABYL@SIMTEL20.ARPA> <721@vsi.UUCP>
Reply-To: pjh@mccc.UUCP (Pete Holsberg)
Organization: The College On The Other Side of Route 1
Lines: 44

In article <721@vsi.UUCP> friedl@vsi.UUCP (Stephen J. Friedl) writes:
...Keith Petersen posts this article, of which he is not the author:
...>      Baud rate is a measure of the number of times per second a
...> signal in a communications channel varies, or makes a transition
...> between states (states being frequencies, voltage levels, or phase
...> angles).  One baud is one such change.
...
...[note: the article was a good one but my nit-picker is bored]
...
...I believe that "baud rate" is incorrect.  My understanding is
...that a state change as above is a "symbol" and "baud" means
..."symbols per second".  I contend that saying:
...
...>      300 bauds per second X 1 bit per baud  =  300 bps
...
...Is like saying:
...
...	"To calculate time to get to Omaha from Los Angeles:
...
...	70 MPH per hour x 1500 miles = ....
...
...(Geography flames should join the speed-limit flames on their
...way to /dev/null, please).
...
...Shouldn't it be:
...
...	300 baud X 1 bit per symbol = 300 bps
...
...Anybody have any comment?  I contend that "baud rate" is redundant
...in the same way that "MPH per hour" unless you are talking about
...acceleration.  When you want to say "baud rate", say "bit rate".
...
...-- 
...Steve Friedl    V-Systems, Inc. (714) 545-6442      3B2-kind-of-guy
...friedl@vsi.com     {backbones}!vsi.com!friedl    attmail!vsi!friedl
...
...Nancy Reagan on the Mac-II architecture: "Just say Nu"


By the definition of "baud" you are correct.  A baud IS a rate.  On the
other hand, we use that terminology lots.  Eg., "interest rate" and
"interest" are used interchangeably.  The amount of interest is almost
useless without stating the period of time over which it is to be
calculated.  But that's not the same as "MPG/hr".