Its a binary counter, a ripple counter, ripple meaning the outputs change state sequentially, meaning that the binary output isnt allways valid.
Its a chip commonly used to clock devices that need a binary value, or to divide down a certain frequency, each output divides by 2.
Its commonly used with microprocessors and phase locked loops.
Its a binary counter, a ripple counter, ripple meaning the outputs change state sequentially, meaning that the binary output isnt allways valid.
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That means that each output changes state sequentially from the previous state with a small circuit delay between the transitions (rather than all at the same time as a synchronous clocked counter does). Thus you have to wait until all outputs are stable before you can read the new output value.