2014-04-26 10:52:28 -04:00
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EBCDIC
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2014-04-26 11:54:15 -04:00
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/ebs@dik/ , /ebsee`dik/ , /ebk@dik/ , n. [abbreviation, Extended Binary
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Coded Decimal Interchange Code] An alleged character set used on IBM
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dinosaur s. It exists in at least six mutually incompatible versions, all
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featuring such delights as non-contiguous letter sequences and the absence
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of several ASCII punctuation characters fairly important for modern computer
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languages (exactly which characters are absent varies according to which
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version of EBCDIC you're looking at). IBM adapted EBCDIC from punched card
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code in the early 1960s and promulgated it as a customer-control tactic (see
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connector conspiracy ), spurning the already established ASCII standard.
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Today, IBM claims to be an open-systems company, but IBM's own description
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of the EBCDIC variants and how to convert between them is still internally
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classified top-secret, burn-before-reading. Hackers blanch at the very name
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of EBCDIC and consider it a manifestation of purest evil. See also fear and
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loathing.
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