30 Sep
2026
30 Sep
'26
10:25 a.m.
On Sep 30, 2026, at 11:21 AM, Carey Schug via cctalk
<cctalk(a)classiccmp.org> wrote:
how many bits count?
does the flag bit count in the decimal IBM 1620? It indicated the high
order digit of a decimal number, and nothing else.
I thought it marks the sign when on the high order digit, and the end of the number when
on the low order digit. Yes, I would count the flag (but not parity) so you could call a
1620 a 5 bit machine. But calling it a BCD machine is more logical.
paul