Binary-coded decimal
System of digitally encoding numbers
Binary-coded decimal
In computing and electronic systems, binary-coded decimal (BCD) is a class of binary encodings of decimal numbers where each digit is represented by a fixed number of bits, usually four or eight. Sometimes, special bit patterns are used for a sign or other indications (e.g. error or overflow). In byte-oriented systems (i.e. most modern computers), the term unpacked BCD usually implies a full byte for each digit (often including a sign), whereas packed BCD typically encodes two digits within a single byte by taking advantage of the fact that four bits are enough to represent the range 0 to 9. The precise four-bit encoding, however, may vary for technical reasons (e.g. excess-3). The ten states representing a BCD digit are sometimes called tetrades (the nibble typically needed to hold them is also known as a tetrade) while the unused, don't care-states are named pseudo-tetrad(e)s[de], pseudo-decimals, or pseudo-decimal digits. BCD's main virtue, in comparison to binary positional systems...
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