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Q: EDI: Converting KCs to MB ($5.00) ( Answered 4 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: EDI: Converting KCs to MB ($5.00)
Category: Computers
Asked by: npa100-ga
List Price: $5.00
Posted: 26 Apr 2004 21:17 PDT
Expires: 26 May 2004 21:17 PDT
Question ID: 336784
An EDI conversion question:  How many KCs are in 1 megabyte?
Answer  
Subject: Re: EDI: Converting KCs to MB ($5.00)
Answered By: denco-ga on 26 Apr 2004 23:50 PDT
Rated:4 out of 5 stars
 
Howdy npa100-ga,

The Covisint Connect Glossary of Terms defines a KC as a "kilo-character."
Sometimes the hyphen is dropped and it is spelled "kilocharacter."
http://www.covisint.com/services/connect/connectGlossary.shtml

"KC - Acronym for kilo-character (1,000 characters). One character equals
one byte."

So a KC = 1,000 bytes.

How many bytes in a megabyte?  Not so easy a question, according to the
Whatis.com web site.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci212542,00.html

"1) As a measure of computer processor storage and real and virtual memory, a
megabyte (abbreviated MB) is 2 to the 20th power bytes, or 1,048,576 bytes in
decimal notation.

2) According to the IBM Dictionary of Computing, when used to describe disk
storage capacity and transmission rates, a megabyte is 1,000,000 bytes in
decimal notation.

According to the Microsoft Press Computer Dictionary, a megabyte means either
1,000,000 bytes or 1,048,576 bytes.

According to Eric S. Raymond in The New Hacker's Dictionary, a megabyte is
always 1,048,576 bytes on the argument that bytes should naturally be computed
in powers of two."

So, there are two Answers to your Question, depending on whose "standard" you
are using.  I have seen references to both definitions of megabyte when it
comes to EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) applications.

If your vendor, etc. uses the 1 megabyte = 1,000,000 bytes definition, then:

1 MB = 1,000 KC

If they use the 1 megabyte = 1,048,576 bytes figure, then:

1 MB = 1,048.576 KC

Something tells me that if someone is working in terms of KCs instead of KBs
(kilobytes) they also mean (because it's easier to work with) 1 MB = 1,000 KC,
but I would ask the "powers that be" what they mean by a megabyte to be sure.

If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.


Search Strategy:

Google search on: megabyte
://www.google.com/search?q=megabyte

Google search on: kilocharacter
://www.google.com/search?q=kilocharacter

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher

Request for Answer Clarification by npa100-ga on 27 Apr 2004 07:53 PDT
Don't need clarification.  Just wanted to say thanks for a well-researched answer.

Clarification of Answer by denco-ga on 27 Apr 2004 14:26 PDT
My pleasure npa100-ga!

Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher
npa100-ga rated this answer:4 out of 5 stars
A well-researched answer.  I'm quite satisfied.

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