/sys$common/syshlp/HELPLIB.HLB  —  MACRO  /ALPHA  Supplied Library Macros, .PACKED  Description
    .PACKED generates packed decimal data with two digits per byte.
    Packed decimal data is useful in calculations requiring exact
    accuracy. It is operated on by the decimal string instructions.

    A packed decimal string is a contiguous sequence of bytes in
    memory. It is specified by two attributes: the address A of
    the first byte and a length L, which is the number of digits in
    the string and not the length of the string in bytes. The bytes
    of a packed decimal string are divided into two, 4-bit fields
    (nibbles). Each nibble except the low nibble (bits 3:0) of the
    last (highest-addressed) byte must contain a decimal digit. The
    low nibble of the highest-addressed byte must contain a sign. The
    representation for the digits and sign is indicated as follows:

    Digit
    or
    Sign  Decimal        Hexadecimal

    0     0              0
    1     1              1
    2     2              2
    3     3              3
    4     4              4
    5     5              5
    6     6              6
    7     7              7
    8     8              8
    9     9              9
    +     10,12,14, or   A,C,E, or F
    -     15             B or D
          11 or 13

    The preferred sign representation is 12 for plus (+)  and 13 for
    minus (-). The length L is the number of digits in the packed
    decimal string (not counting the sign); L must be in the range
    0 to 31. When the number of digits is odd, the digits and the
    sign fit into a string of bytes whose length is defined by the
    following equation: L/2(integer part only) + 1. When the number
    of digits is even, it is required that an extra 0 appear in the
    high nibble (bits 7:4) of the first byte of the string. Again,
    the length in bytes of the string is L/2 + 1.

    The address A of the string specifies the byte of the string
    containing the most-significant digit in its high nibble. Digits
    of decreasing significance are assigned to increasing byte
    addresses and from high nibble to low nibble within a byte.
    Thus, +123 has a length of 3. The packed decimal number -12
    has a length of 2.
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