Most also assign a numeric address to each byte. This is convenient because characters can be stored in bytes.
Memory can hold both program instructions and data.
Another thing a good operating system does is to allow many processes to run concurrently on the computer. A word generally means the number of bits that can be transferred at one time on the data bus , and stored in a register . Words are always stored in consecutive bytes, starting with an address that is divisible by 4. Some people refer to 16 bits as a word, to others it may mean 64 bits. MIPS is little-endian.