←back to thread

232 points Twirrim | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0.199s | source
Show context
kreco ◴[] No.41874966[source]
I'm totally fine with enforcing that int8_t == char == 8-bits, however I'm not sure about spreading the misconception that a byte is 8-bits. A byte with 8-bits is called an octet.

At the same time, a `byte` is already an "alias" for `char` since C++17 anyway[1].

[1] https://en.cppreference.com/w/cpp/types/byte

replies(3): >>41874974 #>>41876119 #>>41876985 #
spc476 ◴[] No.41876119[source]
My first experience with computers was 45 years ago, and a "byte" back then was defined as an 8-bit quantity. And in the intervening 45 years, I've never come across a different meaning for "byte". I'll ask for a citation for a definition of "byte" that isn't 8-bits.
replies(2): >>41876924 #>>41877397 #
1. larsbrinkhoff ◴[] No.41876924[source]
1979 is quite recent as computer history goes, and many conventions had settled by then. The Wikipedia article discusses the etymology of "byte" and how the definition evolved from loosely "a group of bits less than a word" to "precisely 8 bits". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byte