Basic Units of Data Storage

mirzamani | March 2, 2011 | 0 Comments

The basic units of data storage are as follows:

1. Bit

Computer works with binary digits. These digits are in the form of 0′s and 1′s. A
binary digit is called bit. One bit takes one storage location in memory. It is the
smallest unit for data storage.

2. Byte

A collection of eight bits is called byte. It is used to store single character. The
capacity of the memory or the storage is expressed in terms of bytes.

3. Kilobyte

A kilobyte consists of 1024 bytes. It is denoted by KB.

4. Megabyte

A megabyte consists of 1024 kilobytes. It is denoted by MB.

5. Gigabyte
A gigabyte consists of 1024 megabytes. It is denoted by GB.

6. Terabyte

A terabyte consists of 1024 gigabytes. It is denoted by TB.

The commonly used storage capacity terms are as follows:

7. Word

A computer word is the number of bytes in common unit of data defined by the
computer system. It is normally the size of a register. The length if a word is
different in different computers. The larger word indicates more powerful computer.

The following tables indicates different word sizes:

No. of bytes No. of bits Ear of computer

One byte 8 Very early personal computer

Two byte 16 Traditional micro-computer

Single word 32 Mainframe, mini-computer and microcomputers

Double word 64 Super computers and some micro computers