Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2002 16:06:07 +1100 From: Michael Wardle <michael.wardle@adacel.com> To: "Gary W. Swearingen" <swear@blarg.net> Cc: parv <parv_@yahoo.com>, Giorgos Keramidas <keramida@ceid.upatras.gr>, Wouter Van Hemel <wouter@pair.com>, doc@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: inconsistent use of data units Message-ID: <3C74803F.4090004@adacel.com> References: <3C743707.3080505@adacel.com> <20020221003116.GA11893@hades.hell.gr> <3C744D39.1020308@adacel.com> <1014256250.304.66.camel@cocaine> <3C745639.8080509@adacel.com> <20020221022225.GA12900@hades.hell.gr> <3C745D8B.9090808@adacel.com> <20020221025358.GB2678@moo.holy.cow> <3C7464B4.70004@adacel.com> <u3adu3bgb3.du3@localhost.localdomain>
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Gary W. Swearingen wrote: >>>and ... unless noted otherwise, in computer context, i do not ever >>>assume 'kilo' to represent 1000 number, only 1024. >>> >>This is part of the problem. kilo only ever means 1000, and to use it >>otherwise is incorrect. You can not steal SI prefixes and redefine them >>how you wish. >> > > SI prefixes are defined for use on SI units, aren't they? As far as I'm > concerned, "byte" is a computer-industry unit with associated jargonized > prefixes. When you're talking about bytes or words, k, K, M, G, T, etc, > have non-SI meanings... I agree that "bit" and "byte" are not formal SI units, and so do not formally fall under SI/CIPM "jurisdiction", however the choice to use SI prefixes has implicitly caused comparison between these units and SI -- not surprisingly -- and the exact meaning of kilo now needs to be clarified so as to avoid confusion, and it *can not* mean 1024, as this directly contradicts the international standard. Can you think of a sensible reason why kilobyte = 1000 bytes is not a good idea? Would I be correct in assuming that you do not use (and therefore are not familiar with) SI? > The disk drive people are just wrong; No, they are quite correct, however they are in the minority. I am not aware of any official body that has standardized kilobyte as meaning 1024 bytes. It may have been incorrectly assumed that kilobyte meant 1024 bytes, as the difference was deemed insignificant, however at no point could a kilobyte have been correctly referred to as 1024 bytes. (Same for megabyte, gigabyte, and so on.) Please point to some real evidence (preferably a standard) that proves the assertion (1 kilobyte = 1024 bytes) correct. > I'd prefer some FDP introduction explain this and that "B" means "byte" > and "b" means "bit", though I wouldn't mind a requirement to use the > full words except where the meaning is clear from the context or a note. > > > P.S. It's unfortunate that our industry borrowed terms and used them in > familiar contexts with strange meanings (as I hate to see happening with > "proprietary", BTW), but it has happened and attempts to introduce "bi" > prefixes will cause more trouble than it solves. What is the 100% formal, standardized method for referring to 1000 bytes? There is none. What is the 100% formal, standardized method for referring to 1024 bytes? There is none to my knowledge. The IEEE/IEC standard (or is it still a proposal?) is the closest thing existing that attempts to clarify and standardize on one terminology. I believe it should be given consideration (if not, it should simply be accepted), as the IEEE is definately a body relevant to electronics and computing (the first thing that springs to mind is networking standards such as IEEE 802.11). If it were the national council of skateboarding (a randomly generated organization!) with this system, then perhaps it would be sensible to ignore it, but this is the IEEE! If we continue to use "borrowed" SI prefixes in a sense other than they were intended, there will continue to be confusion. If we do what is IMHO the right thing, there may be confusion for a short period, however there will be no ambiguity (KiB can not be mistaken for something else), and people will soon become familiar with this standard. Regards -- MICHAEL WARDLE | WORK +61-2-6024-2699 SGI Desktop & Admin Software | MOBILE +61-415-439-838 Adacel Technologies Limited | WEB http://www.adacel.com/ To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-doc" in the body of the message
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