< data , architecture > A computer architecture in which, within a given 16- or 32-bit word , bytes at lower addresses have lower significance (the word is stored "little-end-first"). The PDP-11 and VAX families of computers and Intel microprocessor s and a lot of communications and networking hardware are little-endian.
The term is sometimes used to describe the ordering of units other than bytes; most often, bits within a byte.
Compare big-endian , middle-endian . See NUXI problem .
[ Jargon File ]
(1995-08-16)