Byte (B) - Unit Information & Conversion
What is a Byte?
Definition
A byte is a unit of digital information that most commonly consists of 8 bits. Historically, the size of the byte has been hardware-dependent, but 8 bits is now universally accepted as the standard (also known as an octet).
History
The term "byte" was coined by Werner Buchholz in 1956 during the early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer. It originally described a group of bits used to encode a single character, with the size varying (often 4 to 6 bits). The 8-bit byte became standard with the introduction of the IBM System/360 in the 1960s.
Common Uses
- Measuring file sizes (e.g., kilobytes, megabytes, gigabytes).
- Representing single characters in character encoding systems (like ASCII, UTF-8).
- Quantifying computer memory (RAM) and storage capacity (hard drives, SSDs).
- Defining data types in programming languages (e.g.,
byte,char).
Unit FAQs
How many bits are in a byte?
There are 8 bits in one byte according to the modern standard.
What's the difference between a bit (b) and a byte (B)?
A bit is the smallest unit (0 or 1), while a byte is a group of 8 bits. Data storage is usually measured in Bytes (B, KB, MB, GB), while data transfer rates are often measured in bits (bps, kbps, Mbps).
How many values can a byte represent?
An 8-bit byte can represent 2^8 = 256 different values (from 0 to 255).
Why 8 bits?
The 8-bit standard emerged partly because it efficiently represents powers of 2 and accommodates encoding schemes like ASCII, which initially used 7 bits plus a parity bit.
Byte Conversion Formulas
To Bit:
To Kilobit:
To Kilobyte:
To Megabit:
To Megabyte:
To Gigabit:
To Gigabyte:
To Terabit:
To Terabyte:
To Petabit:
To Petabyte:
To Exabit:
To Exabyte:
To Kibibit:
To Kibibyte:
To Mebibit:
To Mebibyte:
To Gibibit:
To Gibibyte:
To Tebibit:
To Tebibyte:
To Pebibit:
To Pebibyte:
To Exbibit:
To Exbibyte:
Convert Byte
Need to convert Byte to other data storage units? Use our conversion tool.