Two subroutines for symbol manipulation with an algebraic compiler
The current University of North Carolina version of the IT Compiler [1, 2], as well as the GAT Compiler of Arden and Graham of the University of Michigan [3], have special “alphabetic read” and “alphabetic type” statements. On the UNIVAC 1105 these features allow the direct input or output of six-symbol words, each symbol being either an alphanumeric or special character. Internally, each symbol is represented by a six-bit binary coded decimal code. On the IBM 650, five-symbol words are processed, with each symbol represented internally by a two-digit decimal code.