Octet (computing) has represented various storage sizes in the history of computing. Due to the influence of several major computer architectures and product lines, the byte became overwhelmingly associated with eight bits. This meaning of "byte" is codified in such standards as ISO/IEC 80000-13. While "byte" and "octet" are often used synonymously, those working with certain legacy systems are careful to avoid ambiguity. Octets can be represented using number systems of varying bases such as the hexadecimal, decimal, or octal number systems. The binary value of all eight bits set (or activated) is , equal to the hexadecimal value , the decimal
Byte addressing be achieved in one instruction: store this character code at that byte address. Text programs are easier to write, smaller, and run faster. The advantage of word addressing is that more memory can be addressed in the same number of bits. The IBM 7094 has 15-bit addresses, so could address 32,768 words of 36 bits. The machines were often built with a full complement of addressable memory. Addressing 32,768 bytes of 6 bits would have been much less useful for scientific and engineering users. Or consider the 32-bit Pentium processor. Its 32-bit address bus can address 4 billion different items.