From: Scott Brickner <sjb@universe.digex.net>
Date: Sat, 13 Apr 1996 15:15:34 +0800
To: jim bell <jimbell@pacifier.com>
Subject: Re: Digital Cash Escrow
In-Reply-To: <m0u7VIU-0008zAC@pacifier.com>
Message-ID: <199604121921.PAA03867@universe.digex.net>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


jim bell writes:
>At 09:17 AM 4/11/96 -0500, John Deters wrote:
>  Go dig up the manuals for a
>>UNIVAC 1100, Jim.  Why do you think the RFCs for IP specifically refer to
>>"octets" as opposed to "bytes"?  Because (they explain) "octet" is
>>unambiguous, which then infers a certain ambiguity to "byte", now, doesn't it?
>
>Wasn't the original development of the Internet done in the middle 1960's?  
>And thus, does its development pre-date the coinage of the term, "byte"?  
>
>If that's true, doesn't this answer your question?  The terminology used for 
>the definition of a standard often tends to be frozen in time.  Lacking the 
>term "byte" they used "octet."  The subsequent invention of the term "byte" 
>would not have displaced the original term, at least in Internet standards.

Well, the earliest RFC is dated 4/7/69.  That's not really "middle 1960's".
The term "byte" seems to date from the mid-to-late 1950's.  Try again.