What is EBCDIC?
EBCDIC is well known as the Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. A character is described by an 8-bit code, such as EBCDIC. It may represent up to 256 characters, which can be any combination of letters, special characters, integers, and control characters. the main distinctive of EBCDIC is its capability to support a broad range of languages and character sets.
IBM created EBCDIC in 1963 as an addition to the punched cards that were utilized in the early days of computers for data processing and also for storing. The encoding technique is still in use today, especially on IBM mainframes and midrange computers running the IBM Z or IBM I operating systems even after punched cards were terminated. Despite their incompatibility the encoding techniques used by both EBCDIC and ASCII. the American Standard Code for Information Interchange uses similar encoding methods. ASCII is used more frequently than EBCDIC due to its broad acceptability. Operating systems that support EBCDIC always support Unicode and ASCII.
Advantages of EBCDIC
Below are some advantages of EBCDIC
- With fewer bits needed to represent a character, the code is more efficient.
- More characters, such as accented characters and non-Latin alphabets, can be rendered because of it.
- Unlike ASCII, it includes built-in error-checking capabilities.
Disadvantages of EBCDIC
Below are some disadvantages of EBCDIC
- There is fewer software available that can work with it because it is not as commonly used as ASCII.
- Data alteration between EBCDIC and ASCII is more challenging than it is with ASCII.
- Other computer makers are incapable to use EBCDIC without a license from IBM since it is a proprietary code that the company created.
Difference Between ASCII and EBCDIC
ASCII and EBCDIC are the most widely used character coding system. Eight-bit character encoding called Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code is primarily utilized by IBM mainframe and midrange computer operating systems.