Coding systems — identify the primary advantage of BCD over straight binary. Question: What is the main practical benefit of Binary Coded Decimal (BCD) when compared with pure binary representation?

Introduction / Context:
BCD (Binary Coded Decimal) encodes each decimal digit separately in 4 bits. While it is less storage-efficient than straight binary, it simplifies human-centric decimal tasks such as display, entry, and rounding in financial computations.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Comparing BCD vs straight binary
• Focus on practical advantage for everyday systems

Concept / Approach:
BCD’s strength lies in easy decimal digit isolation and conversion. Each 4-bit group maps directly to one decimal digit (0–9), making formatting and decimal I/O trivial. Straight binary packs value efficiently but requires repeated division/modulus by 10 to extract digits.

Step-by-Step Explanation:

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider a decimal cash amount like 123.45. In BCD, each digit is independently represented, easing precise decimal rounding and avoiding some binary/decimal conversion pitfalls.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Fewer bits: false; BCD uses more bits than straight binary.
• Easy to hex or straight binary: not the primary advantage; conversion exists but is not inherently simpler than decimal I/O.
• Arithmetic faster: CPU-dependent and generally false; binary arithmetic is typically faster and smaller.

Common Pitfalls:

• Assuming BCD is more efficient; it is more convenient for decimal, not more compact.

Final Answer:
The relative ease of converting to and from decimal.