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[UDUNITS #GOR-430013]: bits, bytes units

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  • Subject: [UDUNITS #GOR-430013]: bits, bytes units
  • Date: Fri, 27 Jun 2014 20:53:32 -0600
Hi Charlie,

OK. Here's a question for you. The physical quantities corresponding to the 
basic SI units are length, mass, time, electric current, thermodynamic 
temperature, amount of substance, and luminous intensity. What physical 
quantity or combination of quantities would have bit or byte as a unit? Bear in 
mind that "information" isn't a recognized physical quantity.

The closest I can think of is the dimensionless quantity one, in which cast one 
could put the unit "1" for bit countst and the unit "8" for bytes.

I could add "bit" and "byte" definitions as "1" and "8", respectively. What do 
you think?

> Dear UDUnits folks,
> 
> A NASA colleague of mine stores fields that count
> bits and bytes. It seems that "bit(s)" and "byte(s)"
> could/should be valid UDUnits. Why aren't they?
> Unless there is a reason besides "no one ever asked",
> may I suggest these be added to the UDUnits database?
> 
> Yes, there are some subtle issues to resolve regarding
> the meaning of, e.g., kilobyte (*10^3 or *1024).
> Such issues are discretionary. The relation of bit to
> byte is unambiguous, so maybe base units can be implemented
> first and prefixes after more deliberation.
> 
> Thanks!
> Charlie
> --
> Charlie Zender, Earth System Sci. & Computer Sci.
> University of California, Irvine 949-891-2429 )'(

Regards,
Steve Emmerson

Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: GOR-430013
Department: Support UDUNITS
Priority: Normal
Status: Closed