Contents page

Index (83KB)

EBCDIC

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