what is a byte Bits and Bytes Meaning | facts about computer science

 What is a byte

Bit, the abbreviation for binary digit, is the smallest unit of information in a computer. A bit is represented by the numbers 1 and 0, which correspond to the states on and off, true and false or yes and no. Byte, in computer science, a unit of information built from bits, is the smallest unit of information used in computers, a byte is usually composed of 8 bits, although bytes composed of 16 bits are also used. The numbers used in computers are binary rather than decimal.
In the binary system, any number can be expressed by means of only two characters, 0 and 1 instead of the ten characters of the decimal system. The advantage of binary numbers is that they can be represented easily by electronic circuits. For example, and off circuit can represent 0 and an ‘on’ circuit can represent 1.

Byte Bit   1 byte = 8 bits

Each binary digit-0 or 1- is called the bit. To represent characters-such as letters of the alphabet or decimal digits-bits are grouped into eight-digit binary numerals code for characters is the Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code abbreviated as EBCDIC. The EBCDIC codes for several characters are shown in the following table:
Each EBCDIC character has a binary value that distinguishes it from every other character. In the characters shown in the table, ‘blank’ (for a blank space) has the smallest value and the digit ‘9’ has the largest value. These values not only identify the individual characters, but they also make it possible to compare characters. For example, the largest special character is the ‘=’ sign (01111110). Numerically it is smaller than the first letter of the alphabet. A (110000010). Z (11101001). The alphabet’s last letter has the largest value of any alphabetic character and it is smaller than the smallest of the decimal digit characters 0 (111100001).
 To sort a list of names in alphabetical order, the computer compares the bytecodes of the letters that make up the names, starting with the first letter and arranges them in order of increasing value. Sorting on the first letter of the names puts ‘Johnson’ before ‘Murray’ while sorting on the second letter puts ‘Arnold’ before ‘Johnson’. Proceeding in this way letter by letter, the computer uses its numerical abilities to arrange a list of names alphabetically from Abbott to Zola.