EBCDIC

EBCDIC (Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code) is a special code that computers use to understand letters, numbers, and other symbols. It's like a secret code that computers use to talk to each other.

Think of it like a language that only computers can speak, and it's used to store information on things like floppy disks or hard drives. EBCDIC is different from the language we humans use, like English or Chinese, because it uses binary digits (0s and 1s) to represent each character instead of letters or symbols.

So, instead of writing the letter 'A', EBCDIC would represent it as a certain combination of 0s and 1s. Each character has its own unique combination of 0s and 1s, which makes it easy for computers to understand and read.

EBCDIC was first developed by IBM in the 1960s as a way to standardize the way computers communicate with each other. Today, it's not used as much anymore, as most computers and devices have switched over to using a different code called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).

But for a long time, EBCDIC was an important part of the computer world, helping computers to communicate and store information in a way that could be easily understood.