Byte codified this common meaning. Many types of applications use information representable in eight or fewer bits and processor designers optimize for this common usage. The popularity of major commercial computing architectures has aided in the ubiquitous acceptance of the eight-bit size. Modern architectures typically use 32- or 64-bit words, built of four or eight bytes. The unit symbol for the byte was designated as the upper-case letter "B" by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) in contrast to the bit, whose IEEE symbol is a lower-case "b". Internationally, the unit "octet", symbol "o",
Women in computing in Canada is likely much lower than this. Although the reasons for the lack of participation of women are multifaceted and are not fully understood, it is accepted that they partly stem from the perceived image of the field, a lack of understanding of what work in the field consists of, and a lack of encouragement. Correspondingly, many institutions (both ones that are independently organized and ones that are funded by the Government of Canada through universities) have come into existence to inform and encourage potential computing students. As well, many universities and other organizations offer gender-specific scholarships in attempts to increase