![]() And if a bit is off, then it is "off", or false.īecause bytes are collections of 8 bits, they range from 00000000 to 11111111. ![]() The assumption is too much ingrained everywhere.Bits can only be 1 or 0. ![]() Nowadays, changing the byte size would not be considered seriously by anybody. More than 8 bits was probably not considered (that reduce too much the density of text at a time when memory was costly). 8-bit bytes were chosen by the first designers, and following one had no reason to second guess them as it was a good trade-off.Ĥ-bits byte were considered - BCD was a thing for the designers - but it would allow to address half of the memory for the same address length, would force multi-byte handling for most character handling and that's a pain - especially when you consider that assembly language was the norm them so packing two 4-bit BDC digit is a byte was deemed better if density of BCD was needed. 7-bit bytes were used for ASCII, but it was designed to be a standard for data exchange between brands of computer, not expected to be used internally and expecting that internally computers will not use 7-bit bytes (excepted machines like the PDP-10 with varying length bytes). Why did it converge to 8-bit bytes? 6-bit bytes were too cramped for character encoding. The third definition felt into disuse as word addressable machines where reserved to special purpose usage and stopped to be used for character processing. What happened is that the first two notions of bytes converged to be 8 bits in most systems. Word adressable computer which had a notion of byte sometimes (usually? I'm not that knowledgeable about those obsolete architectures) could specify the width (the PDP-10 is in that case it was commonly used with 6, 7, 8 and 9 bit bytes). That meaning is used only for word adressable computers (so is somewhat exclusive from the previous one, at least when C is not concerned). That definition is derived from the first, as it make sense to be able to address character.Ī bit pattern less than a word which can be handled in a word addressable computer. The smallest addressable unit of a computer (that definition is usually used only when it is more than one bit and less than one word the C language is using that definition and doesn't assume than a byte is different from a word). You can argue that the UTF-16 encoding of Unicode is using an 16-bit byte, but the definition falled into disuse before Unicode was established. There have been 6 and 8-bit bytes by this definition. Which definition are you using for "byte"? I know of four. We make our world significant by the courage of our questions and by the depth of our answers. For more open-ended questions, try /r/AskScienceDiscussion | Sign up to be a panelist!.Looking for flair? Sign up to be a panelist!.Neuroscience, Neurology, Neurochemistry, Cognitive NeuroscienceĪsk Anything Wednesday - Economics, Political Science, Linguistics, AnthropologyĪskScience AMA Series: Spy in the Ocean, PBS NatureĪsk Anything Wednesday - Physics, Astronomy, Earth and Planetary ScienceĪsk Anything Wednesday - Engineering, Mathematics, Computer scienceĪsk Anything Wednesday - Biology, Chemistry, Neuroscience, Medicine, Psychology Medicine, Oncology, Dentistry, Physiology, Epidemiology, Infectious Disease, Pharmacy, Human Body Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Abnormal, Social Psychology Social Science, Political Science, Economics, Archaeology, Anthropology, Linguisticsīiology, Evolution, Morphology, Ecology, Synthetic Biology, Microbiology, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Paleontology Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Structural Engineering, Computer Engineering, Aerospace EngineeringĬhemistry, Organic Chemistry, Polymers, Biochemistry Mathematics, Statistics, Number Theory, Calculus, AlgebraĪstronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Planetary FormationĬomputing, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, ComputabilityĮarth Science, Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Geology Theoretical Physics, Experimental Physics, High-energy Physics, Solid-State Physics, Fluid Dynamics, Relativity, Quantum Physics, Plasma Physics /r/AskScienceDiscussion: For open-ended and hypothetical questions. ![]() FAQ: In-depth answers to many popular questions.Weekly Features: Archives of AskAnything Wednesday, FAQ Fridays, and more!.Be civil: Remember the human and follow Reddiquette.Report comments that do not meet our guidelines, including medical advice.Downvote anecdotes, speculation, and jokes.Upvote on-topic answers supported by reputable sources and scientific research.Answer questions with accurate, in-depth explanations, including peer-reviewed sources where possible.Please read our guidelines and FAQ before posting
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