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BCD

BCD

1 9.2
A way of writing decimal numbers in binary by coding each digit
  • noun
  • /biː siː diː/
  • Specialized
: BCD
  • The BCD system allows each decimal digit to be represented as a separate four-bit binary number.

Why not do it all in BCD and then you don't have the binary to BCD overhead?

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Examples

  • But for some sorts of trivial calculations, you might even want to do it in BCD all the time.

    Computerphile

  • And to that effect, some people in the commercial computing centre say, look, binary to BCD will turn out to be expensive.

  • The moment you step back and you go I could do BCD or E instead of B and react.

  • So you can expect that with four equations you can solve for BCD and F in terms of A.

  • Many digital devices use BCD to display numbers accurately on their screens.

  • Engineers often prefer BCD encoding in calculators to facilitate easier decimal-to-binary conversions.

Surface Forms

BCD singular
BCDs plural

Etymology

BCD stands for Binary-Coded Decimal, which means each decimal 'digit' is stored separately in a small group of binary bits, like writing each number in its own tiny box. That is why BCD is useful in calculators and systems that need accurate decimal math.