A byte is a fundamental unit of digital information in computing and data storage, most commonly consisting of eight bits. Each bit is a binary digit that can be either 0 or 1, so a byte can represent 256 different values (2^8) ranging from 0 to 255
. Historically, the size of a byte varied depending on the hardware, with some systems using bytes of different lengths (from 1 to 48 bits), but the standard has settled on 8 bits per byte, especially since the mid-1960s with systems like IBM's System/360
. A byte typically represents a single character, such as a letter, number, or symbol in text encoding systems, making it the smallest addressable unit of memory in many computer architectures
. In practical terms, bytes are used to measure data size and storage capacity. Larger units like kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), and gigabytes (GB) are multiples of bytes, essential for understanding file sizes and storage devices
. To summarize:
- A byte = 8 bits
- Represents a single character or 256 possible values
- Smallest addressable memory unit in many systems
- Used as the basic measure for data storage and processing
An alternative term, "octet," is sometimes used to specifically denote an 8-bit byte to avoid ambiguity
