Byte is used for measuring the storage capacity in computer information technology. This article will tell you what byte is and the related units.
Bytes (/bait/ n. [C]), a measurement unit, is used for measuring the storage capacity in computer information technology. It also means data type and language characters in some computer programming languages.
Related Units
B & bit
Data storage applies “Byte” as a unit, while data transmission is mostly based on “bit”. A bit is a 0 or 1 (or binary system), and every eight bits (abbreviated as b) forms a Byte (abbreviated as B). And bit is the minimum units of information.
B & iB
1KB（Kibibyte）=1024byte
1KiB（Kilobyte）=1000byte
1MB（Mebibyte）=1048576byte
1MiB（Megabyte）=1000000byte
Hard disk manufacturers use the “GiB” (decimal system, or ten to the third power equals to 1000. Such as: 1 MiB = 1000 KB) for calculating. And the computer operating systems are based on GB (binary system, or 10 to the square power. Such as: 1 MB = 1024 KB). But the domestic users always think that the 1MiB equals to 1M (or 1024 KB).
According to the hard disk vendors’ and users’ different understanding for 1 MB (based on the rule: 1 MB = 1024 KB), a lot of 160 g hard disks can not reach the capacity of 160 g. This can explain the problem why the capacity of a new hard disk (shortchanged one) is not what it is marked.
Data Type
Byte data type (or Byte type) uses a Byte for storage. It can differentiate 256 figures. And the value range is from 0 to 255. Byte is an unsigned type which ranges from 0 to 255. So it can’t denote a negative number.