Are you trying to make a pun with byte/bite relating to nibble? Because that's actually where the term nibble (referring to 4 bits) comes from, so I'm not sure such a pun even counts as a pun anymore. Or am I misinterpreting your comment?
replyWhen did we stop spelling it "nybble"?
replyI was wondering this as well. Probably when a new wave of people discovered the concept in the absence of the older wave? By contrast, "byte" has been in use continuously and widely.
replyA byte is always 8 bits. The word you're looking for is `word-size` which, in this case would be 4 bits.
replyA byte is not always 8 bits on old machines, though it is standardised as 8 bits nowadays.
replyThis is why network RFCs talk of "octets", to avoid the ambiguity. Octets are always 8 bits.
I didn't realize that there was a 16 bit name called a 'chomp' haha. But more formally hextet.
replyThe definition of a byte today is different than the definition of byte when those machines were manufactured. Just like how 'foot' is now standardized(*)
reply(* technically, a 'foot' is not a standard unit of measure but that's due to the long history of 'foot' not being standardized until relatively recently)
I think you might be missing the attempt at humor.
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