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C++ proposal: There are exactly 8 bits in a byte

(www.open-std.org)
182 points Twirrim | 7 comments | 17 Oct 24 22:21 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source | bottom
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throwaway889900 ◴[17 Oct 24 23:18 UTC] No.41874794[source]▶
But how many bytes are there in a word?
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wvenable ◴[17 Oct 24 23:27 UTC] No.41874838[source]▶
"Word" is an outdated concept we should try to get rid of.
replies(4): >>41874888 #>>41874892 #>>41874933 #>>41875850 #
1. anigbrowl ◴[17 Oct 24 23:33 UTC] No.41874892[source]▶
You're right. To be consistent with bytes we should call it a snack.
replies(1): >>41874949 #
2. SCUSKU ◴[17 Oct 24 23:42 UTC] No.41874949[source]▶
Henceforth, it follows that a doublesnack is called a lunch. And a quadruplesnack a fourthmeal.
replies(2): >>41874984 #>>41875163 #
3. iwaztomack ◴[17 Oct 24 23:47 UTC] No.41874984[source]▶
or an f-word
4. tetron ◴[18 Oct 24 00:18 UTC] No.41875163[source]▶
There's only one right answer:

Nybble - 4 bits

Byte - 8 bits

Snyack - 16 bits

Lyunch - 32 bits

Dynner - 64 bits

replies(2): >>41875680 #>>41876019 #
5. cozzyd ◴[18 Oct 24 01:51 UTC] No.41875680{3}[source]▶
And what about elevensies?

(Ok,. I guess there's a difference between bits and hob-bits)

6. kstrauser ◴[18 Oct 24 03:04 UTC] No.41876019{3}[source]▶
In the spirit of redefining the kilobyte, we should define byte as having a nice, metric 10 bits. An 8 bit thing is obviously a bibyte. Then power of 2 multiples of them can include kibibibytes, mebibibytes, gibibibytes, and so on for clarity.
replies(1): >>41876085 #
7. jaysonvantuyl ◴[18 Oct 24 03:20 UTC] No.41876085{4}[source]▶
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