SI Prefixes are not used in the computer world, things are a bit different:
Commonly used
These prefixes are easily confused with SI Prefixes.
| Symbol |
Prefix |
Factor |
Factor
|
| P |
peta |
250 |
1125899906842624
|
| T |
tera |
240 |
1099511627776
|
| G |
giga |
230 |
1073741824
|
| M |
Mega |
220 |
1048576
|
| k |
kilo |
210 |
1024
|
IEC 60027-2 / IEEE 1541-2002
IEC has adopted these prefixes to solve the confusion. These are not widely used (yet).
| Symbol |
Prefix |
Factor |
Factor
|
| Yi |
yobi |
280 |
1208925819614629174706176
|
| Zi |
zebi |
270 |
1180591620717411303424
|
| Ei |
exbi |
260 |
1152921504606846976
|
| Pi |
pebi |
250 |
1125899906842624
|
| Ti |
tebi |
240 |
1099511627776
|
| Gi |
gibi |
230 |
1073741824
|
| Mi |
mebi |
220 |
1048576
|
| Ki |
kibi |
210 |
1024
|
kibi originates from kilobinary
Bits/Bytes
| Symbol |
Suffix |
Description
|
| b |
bit |
one binary digit, value 0 or 1
|
| B |
Byte |
4-10 bits, but in most cases 8 bits
|
| o |
octet |
8 bits
|
Examples
| Symbol |
Prefix
|
| 1 kB |
1024 bytes (but 1000 bytes according to SI)
|
| 1 KiB |
1024 bytes (IEC)
|
| 10 Mb/s |
10485760 bits/second = 1310720 bytes/second (but 1250000 bytes/seconds according to SI)
|
| 10 Mib/s |
10485760 bits/second = 1310720 bytes/second (IEC)
|
Standards
- IEC 60027-2:2005
- IEEE 1541-2002
See also
Contributions
Sources