Q & A on Octets and bytes Q: In your books you use the term "octet", but everyone else I know just says "byte". Why do you use the obscure term? A: The distinction is subtle, but important. The term _byte_ refers to a computer-dependent character size, while _octet_ always means 8 bits (independent of the computer). I have worked on several computers that had odd byte sizes. For example, Purdue once had a CDC mainframe with 6-bit bytes, and I also used a BBN computer (the C machine) on which a byte contained 10 bits. In practice, most computers have 8-bit bytes and most engineers and programmers mean ``an 8-bit quantity'' when they use the term _byte_. In a textbook, however, which can be read by people with various backgrounds and who use various computers, it is important to make the distinction.