[cctalk] Re: RS232 then and now

[Paul Koning via cctalk]

> On Jan 31, 2025, at 2:18 PM, Wayne S via cctalk <cctalk@classiccmp.org> wrote:
> 
> Steve, remember that digital electronics ( I.E. integrated circuits like 
> uarts)  weren’t around during the early days of data transmission. It was all 
> analog back then, coils, capacitors, and resistors, so then ideas regarding 
> fast transmission had to wait for the technology to evolve. Then as ic’s 
> became available, what you could do with them sparked new ideas. Example: 
> data compression within the modem using a microprocessor, thus getting higher 
> overall throughput than the theoretical maximum of just the modulation rate.

True, though "digital electronics" and "integrated circuits" are not directly 
related.  Digital circuits were first built with relays and with tubes.  What 
makes them "digital" is that they deal in ones and zeroes rather than with 
continuous real-valued signals.

        paul