On 2002-02-08 08:54 +0100, Hrvoje Niksic wrote: > Wget currently uses "KB" as abbreviation for "kilobyte". In a Debian > bug report someone suggested that "kB" should be used because it is > "more correct". The reporter however failed to cite the reference for > this, and a search of the web has proven inconclusive. > > Does someone understand the spelling issues involved enough to point > out the "correct" spelling and back it up with arguments?
The applicable standard is the SI (Système International) established by the CGPM (Conférence Générale des Poids et Mesures). It defines the metric system units (s, m, V, g, etc.) and the following prefixes for multiples and submultiples : yocto y 10**-24 zepto z 10**-21 atto a 10**-18 femto f 10**-15 pico p 10**-12 nano n 10**-9 micro µ 10**-6 milli m 10**-3 centi c 10**-2 deci d 10**-1 deca da 10**1 hecto h 10**2 kilo k 10**3 mega M 10**6 giga G 10**9 tera T 10**12 peta P 10**15 exa E 10**18 zetta Z 10**21 yotta Y 10**24 Capital K is not a prefix, it's the SI abbreviation for the temperature unit, the kelvin (note : lower case k) named after Lord Kelvin. So it's definitely kB for kilobyte. Whether that means 1000 bytes or 1024 bytes is another issue. Regardless, KB is incorrect. As are mb, mB, gb and gB, by the way. -- André Majorel <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> http://www.teaser.fr/~amajorel/
