from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
EBCDIC \EBCDIC\ ([e^]b"s[e^]*d[i^]k`), n. [acronym from Extended
Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code.] (Computers)
a 8-bit code for representing alphanumerical information in a
digital information storage medium. It was used expecially on
IBM mainframes, and differed substantially from the ASCII
code. [acronym]
[PJC]
from
Jargon File (4.4.4, 14 Aug 2003)
EBCDIC
/eb'[email protected]/, /eb'see`dik/, /eb'[email protected]/, n.
[abbreviation, Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code] An
alleged character set used on IBM {dinosaur}s. It exists in at least
six mutually incompatible versions, all featuring such delights as
non-contiguous letter sequences and the absence of several ASCII
punctuation characters fairly important for modern computer languages
(exactly which characters are absent varies according to which version
of EBCDIC you're looking at). IBM adapted EBCDIC from {punched card}
code in the early 1960s and promulgated it as a customer-control
tactic (see {connector conspiracy}), spurning the already established
ASCII standard. Today, IBM claims to be an open-systems company, but
IBM's own description of the EBCDIC variants and how to convert
between them is still internally classified top-secret,
burn-before-reading. Hackers blanch at the very name of EBCDIC and
consider it a manifestation of purest {evil}. See also {fear and
loathing}.
from
The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (8 July 2008)
Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code
EBCDIC
<character, standard> /eb's*-dik/, /eb'see`dik/, /eb'k*-dik/,
/ee`bik'dik`/, /*-bik'dik`/ (EBCDIC) A proprietary 8-bit
{character set} used on {IBM} {dinosaurs}, the {AS/400}, and
{e-Server}.
EBCDIC is an extension to 8 bits of BCDIC (Binary Coded
Decimal Interchange Code), an earlier 6-bit character set used
on IBM computers. EBCDIC was [first?] used on the successful
{System/360}, anounced on 1964-04-07, and survived for many
years despite the almost universal adoption of {ASCII}
elsewhere. Was this concern for {backward compatibility} or,
as many believe, a marketing strategy to lock in IBM
customers?
IBM created 57 national EBCDIC character sets and an
International Reference Version (IRV) based on {ISO 646} (and
hence ASCII compatible). Documentation on these was not
easily accessible making international exchange of data even
between IBM mainframes a tricky task.
US EBCDIC uses more or less the same characters as {ASCII},
but different {code points}. It has non-contiguous letter
sequences, some ASCII characters do not exist in EBCDIC
(e.g. {square brackets}), and EBCDIC has some ({cent sign},
{not sign}) not in ASCII. As a consequence, the translation
between ASCII and EBCDIC was never officially completely
defined. Users defined one translation which resulted in a
so-called de-facto EBCDIC containing all the characters of
ASCII, that all ASCII-related programs use.
Some printers, telex machines, and even electronic cash
registers can speak EBCDIC, but only so they can converse with
IBM mainframes.
For an in-depth discussion of character code sets, and full
translation tables, see Guidelines on 8-bit character codes
(ftp://ftp.ulg.ac.be/pub/docs/iso8859/iso8859.networking).
A history of character codes
(http://tronweb.super-nova.co.jp/characcodehist.html).
Here is a simple translation table:
Least significant nibble ->
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A B C D E F
0 ... controls ...
1
2
3 ... controls ...
4 â ä à á ã å ç ñ ¢ . < ( + |
5 & é ê ë è í î ï ì ß ! $ * ) ; ^
6 - / Â Ä À Á Ã Å Ç Ñ ¦ , % _ > ?
7 ø É Ê Ë È Í Î Ï Ì ` : # @ ' = "
8 Ø a b c d e f g h i « » ð ý þ ±
9 ° j k l m n o p q r ª º æ ¸ Æ ¤
A µ ~ s t u v w x y z ¡ ¿ Ð [ Þ ®
B ¬ £ ¥ · © § ¶ ¼ ½ ¾ Ý ¨ ¯ ] ´ ×
C { A B C D E F G H I ô ö ò ó õ
D } J K L M N O P Q R ¹ û ü ù ú ÿ
E \ ÷ S T U V W X Y Z ² Ô Ö Ò Ó Õ
F 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ³ Û Ü Ù Ú
E.g. the EBCDIC code for "A" is {hexadecimal} "C1".
(2002-03-03)