-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 The Monday 2007-05-07 at 08:07 +0200, jdd wrote:
Wordsize may vary, but bytes are 8 bits. and nybbles are 4 bits.
So say you. Reality differs.
this may be a translation problem...
The definition varies acording to who makes them. One definition could be the smallest group of bits the CPU adresses at a time; in modern computers that is 8 bits. for instance: - From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]: byte n : a sequence of 8 bits (enough to represent one character of alphanumeric data) processed as a single unit of information - From The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (27 SEP 03) [foldoc]: byte <unit> /bi:t/ (B) A component in the machine {data hierarchy} usually larger than a {bit} and smaller than a {word}; now most often eight bits and the smallest addressable unit of storage. A byte typically holds one {character}. A byte may be 9 bits on 36-bit computers. Some older architectures used "byte" for quantities of 6 or 7 bits, and the PDP-10 and IBM 7030 supported "bytes" that were actually {bit-fields} of 1 to 36 (or 64) bits! These usages are now obsolete, and even 9-bit bytes have become rare in the general trend toward power-of-2 word sizes. The term was coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956 during the early design phase for the {IBM} {Stretch} computer. It was a mutation of the word "bite" intended to avoid confusion with "bit". In 1962 he described it as "a group of bits used to encode a character, or the number of bits transmitted in parallel to and from input-output units". The move to an 8-bit byte happened in late 1956, and this size was later adopted and promulgated as a standard by the {System/360} {operating system} (announced April 1964). James S. Jones <> adds: I am sure I read in a mid-1970's brochure by IBM that outlined the history of computers that BYTE was an acronym that stood for "Bit asYnchronous Transmission E__?__" which related to width of the bus between the Stretch CPU and its CRT-memory (prior to Core). Terry Carr <> says: In the early days IBM taught that a series of bits transferred together (like so many yoked oxen) formed a Binary Yoked Transfer Element (BYTE).
what about other langages? may be the problem is only in english?
No, the problem arises when experts from several generations talk together ;-) - -- Cheers, Carlos E. R. -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.5 (GNU/Linux) Comment: Made with pgp4pine 1.76 iD8DBQFGPxVotTMYHG2NR9URAm4lAJ9ZpPT5X0VSWUaOQ5L5L7e97U7j7QCeKFF+ QCXLB7czF2wlouSFEPQrll4= =garM -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@opensuse.org For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@opensuse.org