In computer science, a mask is data that is used for bitwise operations, particularly in a bit field.
Using a mask, multiple bits in a byte, nibble, word (etc.) can be set either on, off or inverted from on to off (or vice versa) in a single bitwise operation.
Famous quotes containing the word mask:
“I met Murder on the way—
He had a mask like Castlereagh—”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)