Message-Id: <200112211937.fBLJbkSr021293@svr3.applink.net>
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From: Timothy Covell <timothy.covell@ashavan.org>
Reply-To: timothy.covell@ashavan.org
To: linux-kernel@vger.kernel.org
Subject: Re: Configure.help editorial policy
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2001 13:34:01 -0600
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Sender: linux-kernel-owner@vger.kernel.org


On Friday 21 December 2001 13:12, David Weinehall wrote:
[snip]

> Whatever the choice ends up being, KB is always incorrect, unless you
> intend to specify some strange formula where the number of bytes (B)
> combined with the temperature in Kelvin (K) has anything to do with
> things.
>
>
>
> /David Weinehall

The way the metric prefixes work is that multiplicative prefixes are
capitalized and divisional prefixes are in lower case.

mm = millimeter v. Mg= megameter
cm = centimeter v. Km = kilometer

Now, the only reason that 'k' has been allowed instead of "K"
is due to the Satem/Katem split in IndoEuropean languages.
If we were truly consistant, we would use

km = kentimeter for 1/100
or
Cm = cuilometer for 100

But this raises the problem that in most IE languages, "i" or "e"
after a "c" changes the sound from hard to soft.  That's why
I stuck that "u" in cuilometer.  But again, that's silly.

So unless we all change our language to "Katem" based ones,
legacy usage will prevail.

That's my way of saying that you "Kelvins" argument is silly
because there do not exist any cases where "KB" would be
mistaken for Kelvins Bytes.

Just my 2 kents.

-- 
timothy.covell@ashavan.org.
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