Fieldata (original) (raw)

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Military communication project and ASCII precursor

FIELDATA character encoding

Military primary (1xxxxxx) code, a representative military supervisory (0xxxxxx) code, UNIVAC graphical code.
Classification 7-bit or 6-bit basic Latin encoding
Preceded by ITA 2
Succeeded by US-ASCII
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FIELDATA (also written as Fieldata) was a pioneering computer project run by the US Army Signal Corps in the late 1950s that intended to create a single standard (as defined in MIL-STD-188A/B/C[1][2][3][4]) for collecting and distributing battlefield information. In this respect it could be thought of as a generalization of the US Air Force's SAGE system that was being created at about the same time.

Unlike SAGE, FIELDATA was intended to be much larger in scope, allowing information to be gathered from any number of sources and forms. Much of the FIELDATA system was the specifications for the format the data would take, leading to a character set that would be a huge influence on ASCII a few years later.[1][5] FIELDATA also specified the message formats and even the electrical standards for connecting FIELDATA-standard machines together.

Another part of the FIELDATA project was the design and construction of computers at several different scales, from data-input terminals at one end, to theatre-wide data processing centers at the other. Several FIELDATA-standard computers were built during the lifetime of the project, including the transportable MOBIDIC from Sylvania, and the BASICPAC and LOGICPAC from Philco. Another system, ARTOC, was intended to provide graphical output (in the form of photographic slides),[6][7][8] but was never completed.

Because FIELDATA did not specify codes for interconnection and data transmission control, different systems (like "STANDARD FORM", "COMLOGNET Common language code", "SACCOMNET (465L) Control Code"[9][5]) used different control functions. Intercommunication between them was difficult.[1]

FIELDATA is the original character set used internally in UNIVAC computers of the 1100 series, each six-bit character contained in six sequential bits of the 36-bit word of that computer. The direct successor to the UNIVAC 1100 is the Unisys 2200 series computers, which used FIELDATA (although ASCII is now also common with each character encoded in 1/4 of a word, or 9 bits). Because some of the FIELDATA characters are not represented in ASCII, the Unisys 2200 uses '^', '"' and '_' characters for codes 004oct, 076oct and 077oct respectively.

The FIELDATA project ran from 1956[_citation needed_] until it was stopped during a reorganization in 1962.[_citation needed_]

FIELDATA characters

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Tag Bit (1) Indicator Bits (2) Detail Bits (4) Binary Bits (1+6) Decimal Octal Glyph Name Comment
Supervisory code (tag bit 0)
0 00 0000 0:000000 0 000 Blank / Idle (IDL)
0 00 0001 0:000001 1 001 Control Upper Case (CUC)
0 00 0010 0:000010 2 002 Control Lower Case (CLC)
0 00 0011 0:000011 3 003 Control Tab (CHT)
0 00 0100 0:000100 4 004 Control Carriage Return (CCR)
0 00 0101 0:000101 5 005 Control Space (CSP)
0 00 0110 0:000110 6 006 a The first two rows of the supervisory code are not used in all applications, only where "alphabetic supervisory information" is required.[10] COMLOGNET omits them, while SACCOMNET includes additional control characters in place of the supervisory letters.[5]
0 00 0111 0:000111 7 007 b
0 00 1000 0:001000 8 010 c
0 00 1001 0:001001 9 011 d
0 00 1010 0:001010 10 012 e
0 00 1011 0:001011 11 013 f
0 00 1100 0:001100 12 014 g
0 00 1101 0:001101 13 015 h
0 00 1110 0:001110 14 016 i
0 00 1111 0:001111 15 017 j
0 01 0000 0:010000 16 020 k
0 01 0001 0:010001 17 021 l
0 01 0010 0:010010 18 022 m
0 01 0011 0:010011 19 023 n
0 01 0100 0:010100 20 024 o
0 01 0101 0:010101 21 025 p
0 01 0110 0:010110 22 026 q
0 01 0111 0:010111 23 027 r
0 01 1000 0:011000 24 030 s
0 01 1001 0:011001 25 031 t
0 01 1010 0:011010 26 032 u
0 01 1011 0:011011 27 033 v
0 01 1100 0:011100 28 034 w
0 01 1101 0:011101 29 035 x
0 01 1110 0:011110 30 036 y
0 01 1111 0:011111 31 037 z
0 10 0000 0:100000 32 040 β Dial 0 (D0) Graphical in COMLOGNET variant.[5]
0 10 0001 0:100001 33 041 # Dial 1 (D1)
0 10 0010 0:100010 34 042 t Dial 2 (D2)
0 10 0011 0:100011 35 043 Dial 3 (D3)
0 10 0100 0:100100 36 044 Dial 4 (D4)
0 10 0101 0:100101 37 045 @ Dial 5 (D5) Graphical in COMLOGNET variant.
0 10 0110 0:100110 38 046 % Dial 6 (D6)
0 10 0111 0:100111 39 047 ¢ Dial 7 (D7)
0 10 1000 0:101000 40 050 Dial 8 (D8) BEL in COMLOGNET.
0 10 1001 0:101001 41 051 & Dial 9 (D9) Graphical in COMLOGNET variant.
0 10 1010 0:101010 42 052 Σ Start of Control Block (SCB, SOC)
0 10 1011 0:101011 43 053 ≠ Start of Block (SBK, SOB)
0 10 1100 0:101100 44 054 ≢ Spare, SOD
0 10 1101 0:101101 45 055 ° Spare
0 10 1110 0:101110 46 056 Spare
0 10 1111 0:101111 47 057 Spare, Stop
0 11 0000 0:110000 48 060 Ready to Transmit (RTT)
0 11 0001 0:110001 49 061 Ready to Receive (RTR)
0 11 0010 0:110010 50 062 Not Ready to Receive (NRR)
0 11 0011 0:110011 51 063 End of Blockette (EBE, EOBK)
0 11 0100 0:110100 52 064 End of Block (EBK, EOB)
0 11 0101 0:110101 53 065 End of File (EOF)
0 11 0110 0:110110 54 066 End of Control Block (ECB, EOC)
0 11 0111 0:110111 55 067 Acknowledge Receipt (ACK, ACR)
0 11 1000 0:111000 56 070 Repeat Block (RPT, RBK)
0 11 1001 0:111001 57 071 Spare Ordered ISN, NISN, CWF, Spare in some variants.[5]
0 11 1010 0:111010 58 072 Interpret Sign (INS, ISN)
0 11 1011 0:111011 59 073 Non-Interpret Sign (NIS, NISN)
0 11 1100 0:111100 60 074 Control Word Follows (CWF)
0 11 1101 0:111101 61 075 S.A.C. (SAC)
0 11 1110 0:111110 62 076 Special Character (SPC) ASCII ESC.[5]
0 11 1111 0:111111 63 077 Delete (DEL)
Primary code (tag bit 1)
1 00 0000 1:000000 64 100 Master Space (MS)
1 00 0001 1:000001 65 101 Upper Case (UC)
1 00 0010 1:000010 66 102 Lower Case (LC)
1 00 0011 1:000011 67 103 Tab (HT)
1 00 0100 1:000100 68 104 Carriage Return (CR)
1 00 0101 1:000101 69 105 Blank / Space (SP)
1 00 0110 1:000110 70 106 A
1 00 0111 1:000111 71 107 B
1 00 1000 1:001000 72 110 C
1 00 1001 1:001001 73 111 D
1 00 1010 1:001010 74 112 E
1 00 1011 1:001011 75 113 F
1 00 1100 1:001100 76 114 G
1 00 1101 1:001101 77 115 H
1 00 1110 1:001110 78 116 I
1 00 1111 1:001111 79 117 J
1 01 0000 1:010000 80 120 K
1 01 0001 1:010001 81 121 L
1 01 0010 1:010010 82 122 M
1 01 0011 1:010011 83 123 N
1 01 0100 1:010100 84 124 O
1 01 0101 1:010101 85 125 P
1 01 0110 1:010110 86 126 Q
1 01 0111 1:010111 87 127 R
1 01 1000 1:011000 88 130 S
1 01 1001 1:011001 89 131 T
1 01 1010 1:011010 90 132 U
1 01 1011 1:011011 91 133 V
1 01 1100 1:011100 92 134 W
1 01 1101 1:011101 93 135 X
1 01 1110 1:011110 94 136 Y
1 01 1111 1:011111 95 137 Z
1 10 0000 1:100000 96 140 )
1 10 0001 1:100001 97 141 -
1 10 0010 1:100010 98 142 +
1 10 0011 1:100011 99 143 <
1 10 0100 1:100100 100 144 =
1 10 0101 1:100101 101 145 >
1 10 0110 1:100110 102 146 _ & in UNIVAC.
1 10 0111 1:100111 103 147 $
1 10 1000 1:101000 104 150 *
1 10 1001 1:101001 105 151 (
1 10 1010 1:101010 106 152 " % in UNIVAC.
1 10 1011 1:101011 107 153 :
1 10 1100 1:101100 108 154 ?
1 10 1101 1:101101 109 155 !
1 10 1110 1:101110 110 156 ,
1 10 1111 1:101111 111 157 Stop (ST)
1 11 0000 1:110000 112 160 0
1 11 0001 1:110001 113 161 1
1 11 0010 1:110010 114 162 2
1 11 0011 1:110011 115 163 3
1 11 0100 1:110100 116 164 4
1 11 0101 1:110101 117 165 5
1 11 0110 1:110110 118 166 6
1 11 0111 1:110111 119 167 7
1 11 1000 1:111000 120 170 8
1 11 1001 1:111001 121 171 9
1 11 1010 1:111010 122 172 '
1 11 1011 1:111011 123 173 ;
1 11 1100 1:111100 124 174 /
1 11 1101 1:111101 125 175 .
1 11 1110 1:111110 126 176 Special Character (SPEC)
1 11 1111 1:111111 127 177 Backspace (BS)

The code version used on the UNIVAC was based on the second half (primary code) of the military version with some changes.[11]

Indicator Bits (2) Detail Bits (4) Binary Bits (6) Decimal Octal Glyph Name Comments
00 0000 000000 0 00 @ Sometimes switched with Δ[11]
00 0001 000001 1 01 [
00 0010 000010 2 02 ]
00 0011 000011 3 03 # Line Feed (LF) on 1107 and 1108[11]
00 0100 000100 4 04 Δ Delta Carriage Return (CR) on 1107 and 1108[11]
00 0101 000101 5 05 Blank / Space (SP)
00 0110 000110 6 06 A
00 0111 000111 7 07 B
00 1000 001000 8 10 C
00 1001 001001 9 11 D
00 1010 001010 10 12 E
00 1011 001011 11 13 F
00 1100 001100 12 14 G
00 1101 001101 13 15 H
00 1110 001110 14 16 I
00 1111 001111 15 17 J
01 0000 010000 16 20 K
01 0001 010001 17 21 L
01 0010 010010 18 22 M
01 0011 010011 19 23 N
01 0100 010100 20 24 O
01 0101 010101 21 25 P
01 0110 010110 22 26 Q
01 0111 010111 23 27 R
01 1000 011000 24 30 S
01 1001 011001 25 31 T
01 1010 011010 26 32 U
01 1011 011011 27 33 V
01 1100 011100 28 34 W
01 1101 011101 29 35 X
01 1110 011110 30 36 Y
01 1111 011111 31 37 Z
10 0000 100000 32 40 )
10 0001 100001 33 41 -
10 0010 100010 34 42 +
10 0011 100011 35 43 <
10 0100 100100 36 44 =
10 0101 100101 37 45 >
10 0110 100110 38 46 & Changed from _ in military version.
10 0111 100111 39 47 $
10 1000 101000 40 50 *
10 1001 101001 41 51 (
10 1010 101010 42 52 % Changed from " in military version.
10 1011 101011 43 53 :
10 1100 101100 44 54 ?
10 1101 101101 45 55 !
10 1110 101110 46 56 ,
10 1111 101111 47 57 \ Stop sign (🛑︎) on 1107 and 1108[11]
11 0000 110000 48 60 0
11 0001 110001 49 61 1
11 0010 110010 50 62 2
11 0011 110011 51 63 3
11 0100 110100 52 64 4
11 0101 110101 53 65 5
11 0110 110110 54 66 6
11 0111 110111 55 67 7
11 1000 111000 56 70 8
11 1001 111001 57 71 9
11 1010 111010 58 72 '
11 1011 111011 59 73 ;
11 1100 111100 60 74 /
11 1101 111101 61 75 .
11 1110 111110 62 76 ⌑ Lozenge
11 1111 111111 63 77 ≠ Not Equal Idle character (IDLE) on some models[11]

The following table is representative of a reference version of the military set, as described in Leubbert (1960b). Various other variants exist, with in some cases dramatic differences in the supervisory code (the first four rows 0–3).[5] The letters in the first two rows are intended for use in "alphabetic supervisory information".[10]

FIELDATA (military)[5][12]

| | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | | | ---- | ---------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- | | 0x | IDL | CUC | CLC | CHT | CCR | CSP | a0061 | b0062 | c0063 | d0064 | e0065 | f0066 | g0067 | h0068 | i0069 | j006A | | 1x | k006B | l006C | m006D | n006E | o006F | p0070 | q0071 | r0072 | s0073 | t0074 | u0075 | v0076 | w0077 | x0078 | y0079 | z007A | | 2x | D0 | D1 | D2 | D3 | D4 | D5 | D6 | D7 | D8 | D9 | SCB | SBK | | | | | | 3x | RTT | RTR | NRR | EBE | EBK | EOF | ECB | ACK | RPT | | INS | NIS | CWF | SAC | SPC | DEL | | 4x | MS | UC | LC | HT | CR | SP | A0041 | B0042 | C0043 | D0044 | E0045 | F0046 | G0047 | H0048 | I0049 | J004A | | 5x | K004B | L004C | M004D | N004E | O004F | P0050 | Q0051 | R0052 | S0053 | T0054 | U0055 | V0056 | W0057 | X0058 | Y0059 | Z005A | | 6x | )0029 | -002D | +002B | <003C | =003D | >003E | _005F | $0024 | *002A | (0028 | "0022 | :003A | ?003F | !0021 | ,002C | STOP | | 7x | 00030 | 10031 | 20032 | 30033 | 40034 | 50035 | 60036 | 70037 | 80038 | 90039 | '0027 | ;003B | /002F | .002E | SPEC | BS |

The code version used on the UNIVAC was based on the second half (6-bit primary code) of the military version with some changes.[11]

FIELDATA (UNIVAC)[11]

| | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | A | B | C | D | E | F | | | ---- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 0x | @0040 | [005B | ]005D | #/LF | Δ/CR | SP | A0041 | B0042 | C0043 | D0044 | E0045 | F0046 | G0047 | H0048 | I0049 | J004A | | 1x | K004B | L004C | M004D | N004E | O004F | P0050 | Q0051 | R0052 | S0053 | T0054 | U0055 | V0056 | W0057 | X0058 | Y0059 | Z005A | | 2x | )0029 | -002D | +002B | <003C | =003D | >003E | &0026 | $0024 | *002A | (0028 | %0025 | :003A | ?003F | !0021 | ,002C | \/🛑︎005C | | 3x | 00030 | 10031 | 20032 | 30033 | 40034 | 50035 | 60036 | 70037 | 80038 | 90039 | '0027 | ;003B | /002F | .002E | ⌑2311 | ≠/IDL |

  1. ^ a b c Mackenzie 1980.
  2. ^ Military Communication System Technical Standard, MIL-STD-188A, 1958-04-25
  3. ^ Military Communication System Technical Standard, MIL-STD-188B, 1964-02-24
  4. ^ Military Communication System Technical Standard, MIL-STD-188C, 1969-11-24
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Jennings 2020.
  6. ^ Kent, Allen; Lancour, Harold (1971). Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science: Volume 5 - Circulation to Coordinate Indexing. CRC Press. pp. 395, 398. ISBN 9780824720056.
  7. ^ "Army Tactical Operations Central (ARTOC) information system". sr-ix.com.
  8. ^ "THE ARTOC". Man in Command Information Processing Systems--A Research Program. 1963. pp. 1–4.
  9. ^ International Telephone & Telegraph Corporation (ITT) (1968). Reference Data for Radio Engineers (5 ed.). Howard W. Sams and Co. pp. Appendix. ISBN 978-0-672-20678-8. Retrieved 2016-05-23.
  10. ^ a b Leubbert 1960a, p. 196.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h Walker 1996.
  12. ^ Leubbert 1960b.

References and further reading

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