Abstract: A method and system for binary to binary coded decimal (BCD) conversion. The conversion includes: obtaining a binary input vector; generating, by a binary/BCD hardware converter, a plurality of BCD vectors based on the binary input vector; and calculating a BCD output vector based on the plurality of BCD vectors.

Abstract: A decimal floating point (DFP) unit is used to execute fixed point instructions. Two or more operands are accepted, wherein each operand is in a packed binary coded decimal (BCD) format. Any invalid BCD formats are detected by checking the operands for any invalid BCD codes. It is determined if an exception flag exists and, if so, outputting the flag; it is determined if a condition code exists and, if so, outputting the code. An operation is performed on the two or more operands to generate a result; wherein the operation takes place directly on BCD data, thus using the DFP unit to perform a BCD operation; appending a result sign to the result of the operation; and providing the result of the operation and the appended result sign as a result output in a packed BCD format.

Abstract: The digital propagate, digit generate, sum+0, and sum+1 terms used in typical carry-propagate adders are generated directly off the multiplicand. During the direct generation, the logic takes into account that each digit will be tripled and if each digit's next less significant digit is greater than 4. Using this technique, the generation of the multiplicand is significantly faster and uses less circuitry.

Abstract: An encoding method comprises generating a character map of an alphanumeric character string, identifying runs of like character type symbols in sequential positions, and removing the runs of character type symbols from the character map. The center for the center infix run is determined, and the characters of each character type are encoded into binary encoded substrings. A decoding method comprises parsing the one or more run fields in the alphanumeric header to determine a number of characters of each type of a plurality of character types represented in the binary encoded string, generating a character map having a string of character type symbols representing the binary encoded string, including determining a reduced character map, centering the character type symbols for a center infix run about the center of the reduced character map, completing a final character map, and decoding each binary encoded string.

Abstract: The digital propagate, digit generate, sum+0, and sum+1 terms used in typical carry-propagate adders are generated directly off the multiplicand. During the direct generation, the logic takes into account that each digit will be tripled and if each digit's next less significant digit is greater than 4. Using this technique, the generation of the multiplicand is significantly faster and uses less circuitry.

Abstract: A method of labelling an article, including a) choosing a first character string comprising an identification number chosen to represent an article or a given class of articles, the character string comprising two or more characters, b) expressing each character in said character string as a binary number having seven or more binary digits, c) storing a sequence of binary numbers corresponding to said character string in a data store, and d) attaching the data store to, or incorporating the data store in, an article. The sequence of binary numbers is preferably generated by multiplication of the identification number by an integer, followed by conversion of the resultant number into a base 84 number. The data store preferably comprises anisotropic magnetic particles having a permanent non-random orientation in predetermined spaced regions.

Abstract: Two thermometer coded words having a most significant byte (MSB) and a least significant byte (LSB) are subtracted, and a check detects a borrowing condition. A first borrowing condition is detected if word B MSB is greater than word A MSB (12), and word A LSB is greater than word B LSB (14). In such a case a borrow (16) must take place on word B MSB. A second borrowing condition is detected when the word A MSB is greater than the word B MSB (18) and the word B LSB is greater than the word A LSB (20). In this instance, a borrow (22) should take place on word A MSB through a shift right function. After borrowing, a subtraction (24) takes place by exclusive-or'ing word A and B MSBs. The result is reconstructed (26) through a shift right process into proper thermometer code format. If a borrowing condition exists, an appropriate LSB is translated (28, 30) before an LSB subtraction process (32) takes the resulting word A and word B LSBs and exclusively-or's them together.