Origins
The name derives from the BitBLT routine for the Xerox Alto computer, standing for bit block transfer. This operation was created by Dan Ingalls, Larry Tesler, Bob Sproull, and Diana Merry at Xerox PARC in November 1975 for the Smalltalk-72 system. Dan Ingalls later implemented a redesigned version in microcode. It is commonly believed that Blit is an acronym for BLock Image Transfer, but that is not the case.
The development of fast methods for various bit blit operations was key in the evolution of computer displays from using character graphics, to using bitmap graphics for everything. Machines that rely heavily on the performance of 2D graphics (such as video game consoles) often have special-purpose circuitry called a blitter.
Read more about this topic: Bit Blit
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