Kilobyte Definition: 1024 vs 1000 Bytes - The Binary vs Decimal Debate
By
surprisetalk
Slow-proofed and worth the wait. Worth its weight in flour.
Summary
The article examines the historical and technical debate around whether a kilobyte equals 1024 bytes (binary system) or 1000 bytes (decimal/metric system). It explains that computers traditionally used binary addressing (base 2), making 1024 (2^10) a natural unit, while metric prefixes suggest 1000 bytes. The article discusses standardization efforts by organizations like IEC and NIST to clarify the distinction between kibibytes (1024 bytes) and kilobytes (1000 bytes), concluding that both definitions have valid use cases depending on context.
Key quotes
· 4 pulledSince computers normally work in a binary system (base 2), the memory is also addressed in binary.
This (and additional technical reasons, makes 1024 (2^10) a natural unit for memory addressing.
The metric system uses powers of 10, so kilo- means 1000, mega- means 1,000,000, etc.
Organizations like IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission) and NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) have tried to clarify this confusion.
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