Re: BUG #19456: # Unit-Labeling Issue: `pg_size_pretty()` Incorrectly Labels Binary Units as Decimal Units

On Wed, Apr 15, 2026 at 7:48 AM PG Bug reporting form <
noreply(at)postgresql(dot)org> wrote:

> The following bug has been logged on the website:
>
> Bug reference: 19456
> Logged by: GAUTAM KUMAR
> Email address: gautamkumar2764(at)gmail(dot)com
> PostgreSQL version: 16.8
> Operating system: LINUX
> Description:
>
> The function appears to calculate sizes using binary (base-2) division
>

You don't need to infer this, you can just read the documentation.

"Converts a size in bytes into a more easily human-readable format with
size units (bytes, kB, MB, GB, TB, or PB as appropriate). Note that the
units are powers of 2 rather than powers of 10, so 1kB is 1024 bytes, 1MB
is 10242 = 1048576 bytes, and so on."

https://www.postgresql.org/docs/current/functions-admin.html#FUNCTIONS-ADMIN-DBOBJECT

Which means it is not a bug. And it's not the kind of behavior we are
going to change on people.

Maybe go write and submit a pg_size_iso(byte_count [, basis 2|10 default
10]) function. I agree this is a gap that could be addressed.

I'd probably drop the pg_ prefix as well - that always just seemed odd to
me. We have plenty of functions that are non-standard that we don't prefix
like this.

David J.