What is a Stop Bit?
A stop bit is a character in asynchronous communication that lets a receiver know that the byte being transmitted has ended. This is vital to the way most information is transmitted over the Internet. Without a stop bit, it is possible that a receiver’s computer would likely prompt an error message and make further communication with the sending computer problematic. Asynchronous communication means that data is transmitted without any external clock. As such, a receiving computer requires knowing when the byte ends in order to get “ready” to receive the next byte. In addition to a stop bit, the other piece of the puzzle is the start bit, which signals the beginning of a new piece of information. Information transmitted over the Internet is broken down into blocks of data, known as bytes, for transmission. Bytes normally include eight bits of data, plus a start bit and stop bit for a 10-bit character frame. These bytes are then assembled to present the data in its original context. Byt
