
Overview of Data Communications and Networking 5
Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code (EBCDIC)
EBCDIC uses eight bits for each character; therefore, it is possible to represent 256 different characters
or bit combinations (Table 1.3). This provides a unique code for each decimal value from 0 to 9 (for a
total of 10), each uppercase and lowercase letters (for a total of 52), and for a variety of special char-
acters. Since it is an eight-bit code, each group of the eight bits makes up one alphabetic, numeric, or
special character and is called a byte.
In EBCDIC, the bit pattern 1100 is the zone combination (zone and digit) used for ...