Stepping

Stepping may refer to:

Computing

Dance

See also

Stepping (African-American)

Stepping or step-dancing is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's entire body is used as an instrument to produce complex rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word, and hand claps. Though stepping may be performed by an individual, it is generally performed by groups of three or more, often in arrangements that resemble military formations.

Stepping may also draw from elements of gymnastics, break dance, tap dance, march, or African and Caribbean dance, or include semi-dangerous stunts as a part of individual routines. The speed of the step depends on the beat and rhythm the performer wants it to sound. Some forms of stepping include the use of props, such as canes, rhythm sticks and/or fire and blindfolds.

The tradition of stepping is rooted within the competitive schoolyard song and dance rituals practiced by historically African American fraternities and sororities, beginning in the mid-1900s.

Stepping

Stepping finds its origins in a combination of military close-order and exhibition drill, and African foot dances such as the Welly "gumboot" dance. It also originally drew heavily from the stage routines and movements of popular R&B groups such as the Temptations and The Four Tops. During the mid-20th century, historically-black fraternities and sororities on United States college campuses traditionally sang and chanted to celebrate "crossing over" into membership of their respective organizations. Stepping is also performed by schools, churches, cheerleading squads, and drill teams.

Stepping level

The term stepping level or revision level in the context of CPU architecture or integrated circuit is a version number.

Stepping level refers to the introduction or revision of the lithographic photomask or masks within the set of plates that generate the pattern that produces an integrated circuit. The term originated from the name of the equipment ("steppers") that exposes the photoresist to light. Integrated circuits have two primary classes of mask sets, base layers that are used to build the structures that make up the logic such as transistors, and metal layers that connect the logic together.

Typically, when an integrated circuit manufacturer such as Intel or AMD invests money to do a stepping (i.e. a revision to the masks), they have found bugs in the logic, have made improvements to the design that allow for faster processing, have found a way to increase yield or improve the "bin splits" (i.e. create faster transistors and hence faster CPUs), improve maneuverability to more easily identify marginal circuits, or reduce test time which can reduce the cost of testing the part.