31 Oct
2004
31 Oct
'04
5:34 p.m.
Graham wrote:
Interestingly (to me at least), in the days when we programmed everything in assembler, 8-bit microprocessors had a set of BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) instructions that allowed computations to mirror what we expect in real life. They were put there for use by pocket calculators, which is why these machines give the *right* answers and recur a third rather than a tenth.
Do you have any reference to this use of BCD? I only know of the use of BCD instructions with integer values, where their purpose is somewhat different (in particular the ease with which BCD can be displayed on 7-segment displays with very little processing capability, compared with decimal values).
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Mark Rogers,
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