Binary-coded decimal Binary-coded decimal In computing and electronic systems, binary-coded decimal (BCD) is a class of binary encodings of decimal numbers where each decimal digit is represented by a fixed number of bits, usually four or eight. Special bit patterns are sometimes used for a sign or for 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 decimal digits within a single byte by taking advantage of the fact that four bits are enough to represent
Byte (magazine) not "how to do it". The editorial focus remained on home and personal computers). By the early 1980s "Byte" had become an "elite" magazine, seen as a peer of "Rolling Stone" and "Playboy", and others such as David Bunnell of "PC Magazine" aspired to emulate its reputation and success. It was the only computer publication on the 1981 Folio 400 list of largest magazines. "Byte"s 1982 average number of pages was 543, and the number of paid advertising pages grew by more than 1,000 while most magazines' amount of advertising did not change. Its circulation of 420,000 was the third