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From: byer@esunix.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.m68k,comp.std.internat,comp.arch
Subject: Re: How do you say "byte" in French?
Message-ID: <261@esunix.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 5-Dec-86 19:07:52 EST
Article-I.D.: esunix.261
Posted: Fri Dec  5 19:07:52 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 14-Dec-86 00:11:54 EST
References: <125@ogesml0.UUCP>, <2523@phri.UUCP>
Lines: 23
Xref: watmath comp.sys.m68k:77 comp.std.internat:40 comp.arch:122

>In article <125@ogesml0.UUCP> ciaran@ogesml0.UUCP (Ciaran O'Donnell) writes:
>> CPU, 25 Mhz clock, zero wait states in r/w, 1 megabyte of on-board DRAM)
>> vitesse 25 Mhz, zero wait states, 1 megaoctet de RAM dynamique sur la carte)

> Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy writes:
>megabyte" and "1 megaoctet" are equivalent.  Is "octet" the proper French
>translation of of the English "byte"?  Assuming that it is, doesn't that
>presuppose that a byte is 8 bits?  We have enough trouble here teaching
>people that a byte doesn't have to be 8 bits -- if you call it an "octet",
>it must be even more confusing: "the VAX has 8-bit octets, but the PDP-10
>has 9-bit octets."

In my (admittedly) brief experiences with Cyber 170's and French people,
octet seems to be a generic term that can mean anywhere between 6 and 
9 bits.  The terms seems interchangable when refering to Vax bytes or
Cyber bytes (6 bits).

			   John Byer {decvax!decwrl!esunix!byer}
			   Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp. (801)582-5847
			   Box 8700 
			   Salt Lake City, Utah 84108

Anarchy Rules!