unit:BIT

A bit is a single binary digit, taking the value 0 or 1. As a unit it counts binary digits of data — storage capacity or data volume — so that, for example, "a 64-bit integer" comprises 64 bits and one byte is 8 bits.

Counting vs. information entropy: This unit is the counting bit (conversionMultiplier = 1), the sense in which "bit" is used for data volume and storage. It is distinct from the information-theoretic bit — the amount of information (Shannon entropy) carried by a choice between two equally likely outcomes, a logarithmic measure of entropy. For that sense use the shannon, unit:SHANNON (symbol Sh), with unit:NAT and unit:HART for the natural- and decimal-logarithm bases. This separation follows ISO/IEC 80000-13, which reserves the shannon for information content and the bit for storage capacity; a stored bit carries at most one shannon of entropy, so the two are not related by a fixed conversion factor.