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Bits
A bit (contraction of binary digit) is the smallest information unit of computer memory or data transmission speed. In the binary numbering system, a bit stands for a storage cell and can take the value 0 or 1. Each character used by the computer is represented by a given combination of 8 bits.
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Bytes
A byte is the smallest addressable unit of storage. A byte is made up of 8 bits. Bits can take two values (0 or 1), therefore a byte allows 256 different combinations of bit values (2 to the power of 8); and since each character is represented by one byte, this coding system allows the representation of 256 different characters. This binary system used for representing data in a computer is the reason why the capacity of computers and memory devices is always measured on the bases of two (e.g. 28 bytes = 256 bytes or 210 bytes = 1024 bytes or 1 kilobyte or 220 bytes = 1024 kilobytes = 1 Megabyte (MB) etc.).
Why is this information important for translators and translation teachers?
Everyone working with computers has to deal with data stored in files in form of bits and bytes. Knowing what these concepts are helps us to understand the way data is represented in computers and what the standard sizes for computer’s memory devices and file sizes mean. By understanding the meaning of bytes, translators can for example at a glance have an idea of the size of a particular document in terms of pages or can decide if the file needs to be compressed in order to be sent via email to a client.