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Yes, I know that this thread is old. But one interesting comment about "base-10 (BCD) arithmetic." Why is it important? Well, for the same reason that "1/3" in base-10 decimal appears as "0.333333..." In base-2, "1/10" is likewise imprecise. True-decimal arithmetic is needed to ensure that "an endless column of figures" will always add-up "to the penny." The COBOL language took this idea to a science, hiding it all away in its "PIC(TURE) clause."
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