Why do we use bytes

[natapper]

What is the purpose of using bytes. I would think that measuring everything in bits would be much easier. Now we have two different measurements instead of just using the one measurement that computer that data is really stored in on a binary level. If anyone knows that would be great

[byalexandr]

It's just a unit of measurement.

[ALwin]

Because bits are not enough, too tiny to describe data.  A single character in the ASCII table can be represented with one byte.

 

And they are not different measuring systems.  They are just different scales of the same measuring system.  Like centimeter, meter and kilometer, so on.

[Arty]

Technically it would be 4 

Bits

and its sub group ibibyte

Bytes 

and its sub group ibibyte

 

[Enderman]

cause why do you use ten instead of one one one one one one one one one one

[Beeeyeee]

because 8 bits makes a byte, which is the standard for characters in an OS. so when you write a program, its just saving each indevidual letter not a billion 1's and 0's and its a lot easier for humans to understand

[natapper]

1 minute ago, ALwin said:

Because bits are not enough, too tiny to describe data.  A single character in the ASCII table can be represented with one byte.

If we measured in bits it would just be large numbers. We would use 16Tb hard drives instead of 2 TB I dont see why it would be an issue. Its the true measurement of storage the computers understand and store data in

[ALwin]

2 minutes ago, natapper said:

If we measured in bits it would just be large numbers. We would use 16Tb hard drives instead of 2 TB I dont see why it would be an issue. Its the true measurement of storage the computers understand and store data in

Computers store data in bytes at the smallest level.  It requires at least one byte (8 bits) to represent a single character.  Hence it is easier to say a letter equals one byte instead of 8 bits.

[natapper]

Just now, ALwin said:

Computers store data in bytes at the most smallest level.  It requires at least one byte (8 bits) to represent a single character.  Hence it is easier to say a letter equals one byte instead of 8 bits.

OK thanks thats what I was wondering

[Enderman]

3 minutes ago, natapper said:

If we measured in bits it would just be large numbers. We would use 16Tb hard drives instead of 2 TB I dont see why it would be an issue. Its the true measurement of storage the computers understand and store data in

it would also be a mess because you cant tell when one piece of data ends and another begins

how do you know where one thing starts and another ends in 100101010101001010010100 

[Tosa]

It's ironic how they made a GigaByte become 1000 MegaBytes and a GigiByte is 1024 MegaBytes, to make it simpler to understand. While this was supposed to make it more understandable, I simply find it more confusing than it has to be, because now, the terms get mixed and you have no idea if it's actually a GigaByte or a GigiByte unless it says "GiB", in which case you'll know it's a GigiByte.

 

Less technical experienced users doesn't know the difference, doesn't care and doesn't need to care either, because it's rather irrelevant wether it's 1000 or 1024 in file size.

[ALwin]

18 minutes ago, natapper said:

OK thanks thats what I was wondering

You have to understand, in computers that use binary, the number of bits determine the amount of data that can be represented.

• A single bit can only represent two values: On/Off or True/False in terms of 0 or 1
• Trying to convey an idea using only a single bit (True or False) is not enough.  Imagine trying to hold a conversation where the language consists of only two letters or two words?
• 4 bits can represent 16 values
• 8 bits can represent 256 values, with the various combinations of 0s and 1s
• For the English alphanumeric characters and punctuation symbols 8 bit is enough
• But when you start taking special characters and symbols from other languages into consideration 8 bits (or 1 byte) is no longer enough

And why binary instead of decimal?  Because the easiest and simplest method to represent information in a computer is with the use of a combination of On/Off binary representations.  An analogy would be Morse code where there are only two values: dot and dash.  Yet a combination of dots and dashes can be used to represent complex messages.

[ALwin]

20 minutes ago, Enderman said:

it would also be a mess because you cant tell when one piece of data ends and another begins

how do you know where one thing starts and another ends in 100101010101001010010100 

This is also a good point.  At a byte level, we or the computer understands that in a long series of binary 0s and 1s, every group of 8 zeroes and ones represent a piece of information.

[Enderman]

1 minute ago, ALwin said:

This is also a good point.  At a byte level, we or the computer understands that in a long series of binary 0s and 1s, every group of 8 zeroes and ones represent a piece of information.

and if it wasnt 8 each then some things like characters or numbers would be shorter

like 101 for example

 

then when you have 101010 you wouldnt know if its 101010 or 101  010 or 10  1010 etc...