Difference between revisions of "Byte"
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| − | + | In [[computing]], a '''byte''' is a unit of data that is eight [[Binary system|binary]] (bits) digits long. Thus it has 2<sup>8</sup> = 256 different values that can be logically mapped to represent letters, numbers or symbols (for example, "a", "7", or "@"). | |
| + | The word was coined by Dr. Werner Buchholz of [[IBM]] in 1956.<ref>http://members.aol.com/jeff570/b.html</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | A byte is abbreviated with a "B". [[Computer]] storage space is usually measured in byte multiples, for example 100MB is equal to 100 megabytes (approximately 100 million bytes) of data. | ||
| + | |||
| + | Other common abbreviations include:<br /> | ||
| + | kB = kilobyte = 1024 bytes = approximately 1 thousand bytes<br /> | ||
| + | MB = Megabyte = 1024 kilobytes = 1,048,576 bytes = approximately 1 million bytes<br /> | ||
| + | GB = gigabyte = 1024 megabytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 1 billion bytes (although this is an approximation) <ref>http://searchstorage.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid5_gci212194,00.html</ref><br /> | ||
| + | TB = terabyte = 1024 gigabytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes = approximately 1 trillion bytes<br /> | ||
| + | PB = petabyte = 1024 terebytes = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes = approximately 1 quadrillion bytes<br /> | ||
| + | EB = exabyte = 1024 petabytes = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes = approximately 1 quintillion bytes<br /> | ||
| + | Half a byte is referred to as a nibble (or nybble).<ref>http://www.wordorigins.org/index.php/site/2006/04/P15/</ref><br /> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==References== | ||
| + | <references/> | ||
| + | |||
| + | [[Category:Computers]] | ||
Latest revision as of 23:29, March 22, 2021
In computing, a byte is a unit of data that is eight binary (bits) digits long. Thus it has 28 = 256 different values that can be logically mapped to represent letters, numbers or symbols (for example, "a", "7", or "@"). The word was coined by Dr. Werner Buchholz of IBM in 1956.[1]
A byte is abbreviated with a "B". Computer storage space is usually measured in byte multiples, for example 100MB is equal to 100 megabytes (approximately 100 million bytes) of data.
Other common abbreviations include:
kB = kilobyte = 1024 bytes = approximately 1 thousand bytes
MB = Megabyte = 1024 kilobytes = 1,048,576 bytes = approximately 1 million bytes
GB = gigabyte = 1024 megabytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes = 1 billion bytes (although this is an approximation) [2]
TB = terabyte = 1024 gigabytes = 1,099,511,627,776 bytes = approximately 1 trillion bytes
PB = petabyte = 1024 terebytes = 1,125,899,906,842,624 bytes = approximately 1 quadrillion bytes
EB = exabyte = 1024 petabytes = 1,152,921,504,606,846,976 bytes = approximately 1 quintillion bytes
Half a byte is referred to as a nibble (or nybble).[3]