What's the Difference Between a "Bit" and "Octet"?
What's the Difference Between a "Bit" and "Octet"? Some Python Books, Depending on the Author, Seem to Use the Terms Interchangeably. I Asked a Phd Level Guy...
What's the difference between a "bit" and "octet"? Some python books, depending on the author, seem to use the terms interchangeably. I asked a PHD level guy and he said there was a difference but didn't explain what the difference was.
3 Answers
A bit is a single binary digit.
An octet is a collection 8 bits, sometimes called a "byte". There is no formal definition of a byte as 8 bits (though it is the generally accepted standard). The term octet is used when it is necessary to unambiguously specify that there are only 8 bits in the collection.
An octet is always eight bits. A byte is typically eight bits, or the width of a character in a given architecture. Some older computers represented characters in six bits. See .
An octet and a byte is the same.
A bit is just one 0 or 1. Eight bits make a byte.
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