Questions tagged [biquinary]
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4 questions
6 votes
2 answers
1k views
Were any decimal-based computers capable of handling text?
Many of the earliest computers stored and manipulated numbers in various decimal codings rather than in pure binary. Examples include the Mark I and ENIAC, as well as some UNIVAC and IBM models. ...
- 17k
5 votes
0 answers
248 views
Why did the Burroughs 205 not use bi-quinary like the IBM 650?
The IBM 650, one of the first general-purpose digital computers, designed in the early fifties, used decimal digits with bi-quinary representation for reasons discussed here: Why did the IBM 650 use ...
- 65.3k
16 votes
1 answer
835 views
How does a biquinary adder work?
I whipped together a quick answer to this question and then realised, that I have no idea how these tubes manipulate the numbers. A binary adder is easy to understand to the modern mind; for each bit ...
- 41.2k
52 votes
4 answers
7k views
Why did the IBM 650 use bi-quinary?
The IBM 650, announced in 1953, was the world's first mass-produced computer. It represented numbers in decimal, which is understandable, both because it needed to work with exact money amounts, and ...
- 65.3k