Embedded Systems Circuits and Programming

Appendix D

Character Data

D.1 Character Representations

In this appendix we review the various encodings and formats used for representing character and numeric data in digital systems. The numeric formats allow representing binary numbers as signed and unsigned integers in several forms, binary floating-point numbers, and decimal floating-point numbers, usually called binary-coded decimals or BCD.

D.1.1  Electronic-Digital Machines

The mechanization of arithmetic is often traced back to the abacus, slide rule, mechanical calculators, and punch card machines. The work of John von Neumann at Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study and Research marks the first highlight in the design and construction of a digital-electronic calculating machine. ...