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The term 'kilobyte' has traditionally been used to refer to 1024 bytes (2 10 B). [5] [6] [7] The usage of the metric prefix kilo for binary multiples arose as a convenience, because 1024 is approximately 1000. [8] The binary interpretation of metric prefixes is still prominently used by the Microsoft Windows operating system. [9]
In measuring bytes, 1024 is often used in place of 1000 as the quotients of the units byte, kilobyte, megabyte, etc. In 1999, the IEC coined the term kibibyte for multiples of 1024, with kilobyte being used for multiples of 1000.
For example, a kilobyte is actually 1024 bytes even though the standard meaning of kilo is 1000. And, mega normally means one million, but in computing is often used to mean 2 20 = 1 048 576 . The table below illustrates the differences between normal metric sizes and the implied actual size – the binary size.
The ISQ symbols for the bit and byte are bit and B, respectively.In the context of data-rate units, one byte consists of 8 bits, and is synonymous with the unit octet.The abbreviation bps is often used to mean bit/s, so that when a 1 Mbps connection is advertised, it usually means that the maximum achievable bandwidth is 1 Mbit/s (one million bits per second), which is 0.125 MB/s (megabyte per ...
An alternative system of nomenclature for the same units (referred to here as the customary convention), in which 1 kilobyte (KB) is equal to 1,024 bytes, [38] [39] [40] 1 megabyte (MB) is equal to 1024 2 bytes and 1 gigabyte (GB) is equal to 1024 3 bytes is mentioned by a 1990s JEDEC standard. Only the first three multiples (up to GB) are ...
Commonly, a decimal SI metric prefix (such as kilo-) is used with bit and byte to express larger sizes (kilobit, kilobyte). But, this is usually inaccurate since these prefixes are decimal, whereas binary hardware size is usually binary. Customarily, each metric prefix, 1000 n, is used to mean a close approximation of a binary multiple, 1024 n ...
As 1024 (2 10) approximates 1000 (10 3), roughly corresponding to the SI prefix kilo-, it was a convenient term to denote the binary multiple. In 1999, the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) published standards for binary prefixes requiring the use of megabyte to denote 1000 2 bytes, and mebibyte to denote 1024 2 bytes.
1024 = 32 2 = 4 5 = 2 10, the number of bytes in a kilobyte (in 1999, the IEC coined kibibyte to use for 1024 with kilobyte being 1000, but this convention has not been widely adopted). 1024 is the smallest 4-digit square and also a Friedman number.