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Byte Chart - Jargon
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| Abbreviations like Kb, KB, Mb
and GB are often confused, misunderstood or used incorrectly. Here is a
brief explanation of proper usage. |
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The only data that a computer
can understand is on and off. But those two simple
commands can be grouped into millions of combinations and it is the way
they are grouped in series that creates complex data.
The basic unit is called a bit (binary digit). Each
bit has an electronic switch, or gate. If the gate is open the
bit is on and electricity can go through. The computer reads on or open
switches as a number 1. If the gate is closed or off, the electricity is
blocked and the computer reads off bits as 0.
Bits can be grouped together to allow more complex code. Eight bits are
grouped together to form a byte. This allows 256 possible
combinations of 1/0. The abbreviation for bit is a lowercase "b"; the
abbreviation for byte is an uppercase "B". Bits and bytes can then be
expressed in larger measurements. They are generally expressed in
exponents of two, known as binary code.
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TidBits about Bits - Bytes - Nibbles and the "Power of
Twos"
- The text of a thirty volume
Encyclopedia would use about 1GB ASCII Storage.
- The
width of a "Word" is only generally 32 bits (depending on hardware)
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| b |
Bit |
20 |
Two
to the 0 power = 1 (true) or 0 (false) |
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Nibble |
22 |
Two
to the 2 power = 4 bits |
| B |
Byte |
23 |
Two
to the 3 power = 8 bits = 1Byte |
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Wyde
or Halfword |
24 |
Two
to the 4 power = 16 Bits |
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Word |
25 |
Two
to the 5 power = 32 Bits |
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Double
or Double Word |
26 |
Two
to the 6 power = 64 Bits |
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Quad
or Quad Word |
27 |
Two
to the 7 power = 128 Bits |
| Kb |
Kilobit |
210 |
Two
to the 10th power = 1024 bits = 1.024Kb |
| KB |
Kilobyte |
210 |
Two
to the 10th power = 1024 Bytes = 1.024KB |
| MB |
Megabyte
- Megs |
220 |
Two
to the 20th power = 1,024 KB = 1,048,576 B |
| GB |
Gigabyte
- Gigs |
230 |
Two
to the 30th power = 1,024 MB = 1,048,576 KB |
| TB |
Terabyte |
240 |
Two
to the 40th power = 1,024 GB = 1,048,576 MB |
| PB |
Petabyte |
250 |
Two
to the 50th power = 1,024 TB = 1,048,576 GB |
| EB |
Exabyte |
260 |
Two
to the 60th power = 1,024 PB = 1,048,576 TB |
| ZB |
Zettabyte |
270 |
Two
to the 70th power = 1,024 EB = 1,048,576 PB |
| YB |
Yottabyte |
280 |
Two
to the 80th power = 1,024 ZB = 1,048,576 EB |
| NB |
Nonabyte? |
290 |
Two
to the 90th power = 1,024 YB = 1,048,576 ZB |
| DB |
Doggabyte? |
2100 |
Two
to the 100th power = 1,024 NB = 1,048,576 YB |
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