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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 ...
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. A kilobyte may refer to either 1000 or 1024 bytes. The International System of Units (SI) defines the prefix kilo as a multiplication factor of 1000 (10 3); therefore, one kilobyte is 1000 bytes. [1] The internationally recommended unit symbol for the kilobyte is kB. [1]
A unit for a large amount of data can be formed using either a metric or binary prefix with a base unit. For storage, the base unit is typically byte. For communication throughput, a base unit of bit is common. For example, using the metric kilo prefix, a kilobyte is 1000 bytes and a kilobit is 1000 bits.
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 ...
It is thus convenient to use prefixes denoting powers of 1024, known as binary prefixes, in describing them. For example, a memory capacity of 1 073 741 824 bytes (1024 3 B) is conveniently expressed as 1 GiB rather than as 1.074 GB. The former specification is, however, often quoted as "1 GB" when applied to random-access memory. [15]
On the other hand, a hard disk whose capacity is specified by the manufacturer as "10 gigabytes" or "10 GB", holds 10 × 10 9 = 10 000 000 000 bytes, or a little more than that, but less than 10 × 2 30 = 10 737 418 240 and a file whose size is listed as "2.3 GB" may have a size closer to 2.3 × 2 30 ≈ 2 470 000 000 or to 2.3 × 10 9 = 2 300 ...
Due to typical file system design, the amount of space allocated for a file is usually larger than the size of the file's data – resulting in a relatively small amount of storage space for each file, called slack space or internal fragmentation, that is not available for other files but is not used for data in the file to which it belongs. [2]
10 −2: 5.0×10 −2 bit/s Text data Project ELF bit rate for transmitting 3-letter codes to US nuclear submarines [1] [2] 10 0: bit/s 10 1: 5.0×10 1 bit/s Positioning system Bit rate for transmissions from GPS satellites [3] 5.6×10 1 bit/s Text data Bit rate for a skilled operator in Morse code [4] 10 3: kbit/s 4×10 3 bit/s Audio data