The Coq mailing list

[Clément Pit-Claudel <cpitclaudel AT gmail.com>]

On 4/8/21 10:15 AM, Andrew Appel wrote:
> And actually, Santiago's post made me understand more clearly why the word 
> "octet" is necessary.
> It's not just that "byte" carries uncomfortable connotations in French 
> (though that is true);
> it's also that "bit" and "byte" would be pronounced exactly the same in 
> French, causing needless ambiguity.

Andrew, I don't understand why you write this.  I've never heard "byte" 
pronounced the same as "bit" in French (and we routinely use the word "byte" 
in French).

From https://www.culture-informatique.net/bit-byte-octet-niv1/ (a random 
example online).

> Pour simplifier, nous dirons que 1 Byte = 1 octet (soit 8 bits). Donc 1 
> Byte = 8 bits (notez majuscule /minuscule “B” pour Byte et “b” pour bit).

> (sachez toutefois que ce n’est pas complètement exact car sur des 
> équipements autres que des ordinateurs 1 byte n’est pas forcément 
> équivalent à 1 octet, mais dans la plupart des cas, cette équation est 
> vraie).

Clément.