Data (Bits, Bytes and Megabytes)
In computer science, data is any information in a form suitable for use with a computer. Data is often distinguished from programs. A program is a set of instructions that detail a task for the computer to perform. In this sense, data is thus everything that is not program t hat is not program code.
- 1 bit = a 1 or 0 (b)
- 8 bits = 1 byte (B)
- 1024 bytes = 1 Kilobyte (KB)
- 1024 bytes = 1 Megabyte (MB)
The smallest amount of transfer is one bit. It holds the value of a 1, or a 0 (Binary coding). Eight of 1’s and zeros are called a byte. Why eight? The earliest computers could only send 8 bits at a time. It was only natural to start writing code in sets of 8 bits. This came to be called a byte.
A bit is represented with a lowercase “b”, whereas a byte is represented with an uppercase “b” (B).
MB, or megabyte - mega meaning one million: It would seem logical that one mega (million) byte would be 1,000,000 (one million) bytes. It’s not however. One megabyte is 1024 x 1024 bytes. 1024 kilobytes is called one Megabyte.
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