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Kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix
SI prefix

An SI prefix is a name or associated symbol that precedes a basic unit of measure to form a decimal multiple . The abbreviation SI is from the French language name Syst?me International d?Unit?s ....
 "kilo
Kilo

Kilo is a SI prefix in the SI and other systems of units denoting 1 E3 or 1,000. For example:* one kilogram is 1,000 grams* one kilometre is 1,000 metres...
-", meaning 1,000) is a unit of digital information storage equal to either 1,024 byte
Byte

A byte is a basic unit of measurement of Computer storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a Byte addressing memory address space....
s (210) or 1,000 byte
Byte

A byte is a basic unit of measurement of Computer storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a Byte addressing memory address space....
s (103), depending on context.

It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte.

exact number of bytes in a kilobyte has traditionally been ambiguous. Locations in electronic memory circuits are identified by binary numbers, which means that the number of addressable locations naturally becomes a power of 2, and memory sizes are therefore not integer multiples (or fractions) of 1000.






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Kilobyte (derived from the SI prefix
SI prefix

An SI prefix is a name or associated symbol that precedes a basic unit of measure to form a decimal multiple . The abbreviation SI is from the French language name Syst?me International d?Unit?s ....
 "kilo
Kilo

Kilo is a SI prefix in the SI and other systems of units denoting 1 E3 or 1,000. For example:* one kilogram is 1,000 grams* one kilometre is 1,000 metres...
-", meaning 1,000) is a unit of digital information storage equal to either 1,024 byte
Byte

A byte is a basic unit of measurement of Computer storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a Byte addressing memory address space....
s (210) or 1,000 byte
Byte

A byte is a basic unit of measurement of Computer storage in computer science. In many computer architectures it is a Byte addressing memory address space....
s (103), depending on context.

It is abbreviated in a number of ways: KB, kB, K and Kbyte.

Ambiguity

The exact number of bytes in a kilobyte has traditionally been ambiguous. Locations in electronic memory circuits are identified by binary numbers, which means that the number of addressable locations naturally becomes a power of 2, and memory sizes are therefore not integer multiples (or fractions) of 1000. However, as 210 = 1024 ˜ 1000, the established "k" (for "kilo") was early on employed as a convenient "approximate" prefix for memory capacities in multiples of 1024. On the other hand, for products where (some) capacity factors were not equally bound to powers of two, such as magnetic disks (sector and track numbers) and networking
Computer network

A computer network is a group of interconnected computers. Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics. This article provides a general overview of some types and categories and also presents the basic components of a network....
 equipment (bit rates), strict decimal-based units were used.

Some have suggested that the capitalized prefix "K" be used to distinguish this quantity from the SI prefix "k", but this has never been formally mandated. Further, it is not extensible to higher-order prefixes, as SI
Si

Si, si, or SI may refer to :...
 already uses the prefixes "m" and "M" to mean "milli-" and "mega-" respectively. There are also proposals to capitalize all greater-than-unity prefixes (D, H, K, M, G, ...), which would conflict with this. See SI prefix
SI prefix

An SI prefix is a name or associated symbol that precedes a basic unit of measure to form a decimal multiple . The abbreviation SI is from the French language name Syst?me International d?Unit?s ....
.

These prefixes are therefore used with either decimal (powers of 1000) or binary (powers of 1024) values, depending on context:

  • 1024 bytes (210): This unit is used when expressing quantities which are based on powers of two, such as memory chip capacities. Most software also expresses storage capacity in units of 1024 bytes. Although the use of "kilobyte" for this unit is common, this usage has been expressly forbidden by the SI standard and other standards organisations. To indicate a quantity of 1024 bytes, the term "kibibyte
    Kibibyte

    A kibibyte is a unit of information or computer storage, established by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 2000. Its symbol is KiB....
    " ("KiB") has been recommended instead.


  • 1000 bytes (103): This definition is recommended for all uses by international standards organizations such as IEC
    International Electrotechnical Commission

    The International Electrotechnical Commission is a Non-profit organization, non-governmental international standards organization that prepares and publishes International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies ? collectively known as "electrotechnology"....
    , IEEE
    Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

    The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE is an international non-profit, professional body for the advancement of technology related to electricity....
    , and ISO
    International Organization for Standardization

    The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO , is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations....
    , with the abbreviation "kB". This unit is common for quantities which are not based on powers of two, such as bitrate
    Bitrate

    In telecommunications and computing, bitrate is the number of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time.The bit rate is quantified using the Data rate units unit, often in conjunction with an SI prefix such as kilo- , mega- , giga- or tera- ....
    s. This term is starting to be adopted by some software, such as the Linux kernel
    Linux kernel

    The Linux kernel is an operating system kernel used by a family of Unix-like operating systems. The term Linux distribution is used to refer to the various operating systems that run on top of the Linux Kernel....
    .


Kilobyte (abbreviated as "KB") is not to be confused with the term kilobit
Kilobit

A kilobit is an expression of grouped bits meaning 1,000 bits. Use of the term to denote a kibibit is deprecated and contrary to international standard....
 (abbreviated as kb).

See also

  • Orders of magnitude (data)
    Orders of magnitude (data)

    This is a list of multiples for Computer data storage, measured in bits. This article assumes a descriptive attitude towards terminology, reflecting actual usage by the speakers of the language....
  • Megabyte
    Megabyte

    Megabyte is a SI prefix-multiple of the unit byte for digital information computer storage or transmission and is equal to 106 bytes....
  • Gigabyte
    Gigabyte

    Gigabyte is an SI prefix-multiple of the unit byte for Computer data storage. Since the giga- prefix means 109, gigabyte means 1,000,000,000 bytes ....
  • Kilobit
    Kilobit

    A kilobit is an expression of grouped bits meaning 1,000 bits. Use of the term to denote a kibibit is deprecated and contrary to international standard....


External links

  • - an xkcd
    Xkcd

    xkcd is a webcomic created by Randall Munroe, a former Independent contractor for NASA. Munroe describes it as "a webcomic of romance, sarcasm, math, and language." xkcd is a widely read webcomic and has been recognized in mainstream media such as The Guardian....
     comic lampooning the aforementioned ambiguity of the term