Packed Decimal Question

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1 total messages Started by Niles Mills Wed, 30 Dec 1992 18:30

Author: Niles Mills
Date: Wed, 30 Dec 1992 18:30

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Greetings.  And Help.

I am writing a utility that converts Microsoft Works spreadsheets
into text format.  Ie., the same format that Microsoft Works itself
writes when you save a spreadsheet in text format.

I am unable to decipher the storage format for integers.  From other
documentation I've read, it appears that all (or nearly all) spreadsheet
manufacturers have elected to store numbers as IEEE standard (8087)
Packed Decimal Numbers, 10 bytes to the cell, using the last byte to
indicate an exponent.

Can anyone describe an algorithm that converts the BCD data into 
displayable ASCII?  Or perhaps point me towards a reference?  Or am I
completely off the track regarding the storage method?

If you would email me directly at the address below, I'd sure appreciate
it, as my site does not receive this newsgroup as part of its daily
newsfeed.

Thanks, kindly, in advance for your help.

Regards,

Niles Mills

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