Multiple choice technology mainframe

How many bytes does a S9(7) COMP-3 field occupy ?

  1. 7 bytes

  2. 6 bytes

  3. 5 bytes

  4. 4 bytes
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

COMP-3 (packed decimal) stores 2 decimal digits per byte, with the last nibble (4 bits) holding the sign. For S9(7) with 7 digits, the calculation is (7+1)/2 = 4 bytes total. Options A-C incorrectly count bytes without accounting for the packed format or sign nibble.

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