EBCDIC

This is the IBM standard U.S. bit pattern assignment EBCDIC, extracted from IBM's System/370 Reference Summary, eighth edition. Other versions of EBCDIC include a few more characters-- line, mathematical symbols, etc.

EBCDIC CODE ASSIGNMENTS

    0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   A   B   C   D   E   F
0   NUL SOH STX ETX SEL HT  RNL DEL GE  SPS RPT VT  FF  CR  SO  SI
1   DLE DC1 DC2 DC3 (1) NL  BS  POC CAN EM  UBS CU1 IFS IGS IRS (2)
2   DS  SOS FD  WUS (3) LF  ETB ESC SA  SFE (4) CSP MFA ENQ ACK BEL
3           SYN IR  PP  TRN NBS EOT SBS IT  RFF CU3 DC4 NAK     SUB
4   SP  RSP                                 (5) .   <   (   +   (6)
5   &                                       !   $   *   )   ;   (7)
6   (8)                                     |   ,   %   _   >   ?
7                                       `   :   #   @   '   =   "
8       a   b   c   d   e   f   g   h   i
9       j   k   l   m   n   o   p   q   r           
A       ~   s   t   u   v   w   x   y   z
B
C   {   A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   SHY 
D       J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R
E   \   NSP S   T   U   V   W   X   Y   Z
F   0   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9                       EO

EBCDIC /eb's*-dik/, /eb'see`dik/, or /eb'k*-dik/ n.

[abbreviation, Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code] 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.

--The Jargon File version 4.3.1, ed. ESR, autonoded by rescdsk.