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Binary prefixesBinary prefixes
Binary prefixes - kibi, mebi, gibi, tebi etc.
Some facts
- Binary prefixes system is an anolog to metric prefixes (SI), adjusted for the needs of computer science. Binary prefixes differ from related metric prefixes in the following ways:
- There are no fractional (eg. mili, micro, nano, pico) prefixes, because those have no application in computer science. Smallest piece of information is one bit, which is indivisible.
- Usage of binary base (number 1024 and its powers), instead of metric one (number 10 and its powers)
- Despite the existence of binary prefixes, many people still use related SI prefixes, while they're thinking about binary ones. For example someone can say kilo-byte (SI prefix - kilo meaning 1000) bearing in mind 1024 bytes (which is really kebi-byte). Because poeple are rather reluctant to use new prefixes (kebi, mebi etc.), sometimes binary prefixes are called "death law".
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