bcd

bcd [-l] [string...]bcd -d [-l]

bcd reads the given input and reformats it as a visual representation of an IBM-style punched card, drawn with ASCII art. It is one of the classic novelty filters from the BSD games collection, alongside ppt (paper tape) and morse (Morse code).Input may be supplied as command-line arguments or on standard input. With no decode flag, the text is encoded into a punch card; only the first line is read when reading from standard input.

-d

Decode a punched card on standard input back into ASCII text.

Produce or decode 80-column cards. The default is 48 columns.

This is a novelty program, not a data tool. Only the first line of input is encoded, and characters outside the supported set are ignored. It does not perform binary, decimal, or hexadecimal base conversion: for that use bc or dc.

bcd first appeared in Version 6 AT&T UNIX and emulates the punched cards used by the GE 635 and GE 645 computers at Bell Labs in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It is distributed today as part of the bsdgames package.

ppt(6), morse(6), number(6), bsdgames(6)