Test Your EQ (Engineering Quotient)

EQ #8

The C code below converts an unsigned 16-bit binary number into its decimal equivalent, in packed BCD format. Does this algorithm extend to other sizes of binary numbers?

void adjust (unsigned char *p)
{
  unsigned char t = *p + 3;
  if (t & 0x08) *p = t;
  t = *p + 0x30;
  if (t & 0x80) *p = t;
}

unsigned long binary2bcd (unsigned int n)
{
  unsigned char bcd[3] = {0, 0, 0};
  int i;

  for (i=0; i<16; ++i) {
    adjust (&bcd[0]);
    adjust (&bcd[1]);
    adjust (&bcd[2]);

    bcd[2] <<= 1;
    if (bcd[1] & 0x80) ++bcd[2];
    bcd[1] <<= 1;
    if (bcd[0] & 0x80) ++bcd[1];
    bcd[0] <<= 1;
    if (n & 0x8000) ++bcd[0];
    n <<= 1;
  }

  return (unsigned long) (bcd[2]<<16) | (bcd[1]<<8) | bcd[0];
}

Yes, this algorithm generalizes easily. You just need to specify the correct number of bytes to hold the BCD result for the size of binary number that you’re converting:

Binary bytes:	 1	2	3	4	5	...
Loop iterations: 8	16	24	32	40	...
Decimal digits:	 3	5	8	10	13	...
BCD bytes:	 2	3	4	5	7	...
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EQ #8

by Circuit Cellar Staff time to read: 1 min