Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 beta 3/9/83; site x.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!cybvax0!frog!x!craig From: craig@x.UUCP (Craig Lund) Newsgroups: net.lang.c Subject: C needs BCD (ANSI People: Please Listen) Message-ID: <218@x.UUCP> Date: Fri, 19-Oct-84 11:48:17 EDT Article-I.D.: x.218 Posted: Fri Oct 19 11:48:17 1984 Date-Received: Sun, 21-Oct-84 14:08:10 EDT Reply-To: frog!craig Organization: Charles River Data Systems, Framingham MA Lines: 21 One of the biggest problems with C is the lack of a BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) arithmetic type. When I needed to write software to handle a real-time network of automated banking machines (ATM's), C was the best choice for an implimentation language. Unfortunately, C does not give a programmer access to the BCD machine instructions offered by most modern computers/microprocessors. The need to drop into assembly language to do BCD arithmetic was the only annoying part of the entire ATM project. Why should C provide floating point operations and not provide BCD operations ? Craig Lund Charles River Data Systems (617) 626-1118 ...!decvax!frog!craig