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Subject:Re: DB? What's it stand for? From:"Walker, Arlen P" <Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 15 Dec 1997 09:25:03 -0600
This is a bit of trivia, but the question came up this week. I
couldn't find the answer in my reference books.
What does the DB stand for in DB-9, as in a "DB-9 serial connector"?
"D" for the shape of the connector (look at the business end of the pin
connector when held with the longest side to the left). The connector style
is also often referred to as D-Sub or D-Subminiature.
"B" doesn't make any sense to me in this context, as the second letter I
thought meant the number of pins:
A - 15
B - 25
C - 37
D - 50
E - 9
So "B" would only occur in a 25-pin connector, as in "DB-25P." A 9-pin
connector from this family would be "DE-9P." Is it possible that the
reference you're pulling this out of has corrupted the usage? Since DB-25's
are the connectors for the RS-232 serial communication standard, perhaps
they kept the "B" when referring to the 9-pin adaptation of RS-232?
Have fun,
Arlen
Chief Managing Director In Charge, Department of Redundancy Department
DNRC 224
Arlen -dot- P -dot- Walker -at- JCI -dot- Com
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