Eight-segment display of the Sharp EL-8

An eight-segment display is a type of display based on eight segments that can be turned on or off according to the font pattern to be produced.

Applications

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One application was in the Sharp EL-8, an early electronic calculator. The eight-segment display produces more rounded digits than a seven-segment display, yielding a more "script-like" output, with the trade-off that fewer possible alphabetic characters can be displayed because the bars F and G are merged (see table below).

Displaying

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An eight segment display can sometimes display alphabetic characters with less readability because the segments F and G are combined and the corners are rounded. The asymmetrical layout of the elements produced a distinctive "handwritten" digit style, with a half-height "0".

Characters able to be displayed by a seven-segment display but unable to be displayed by an eight-segment display due to graphical confusion
Script Characters
Latin C, c, d, G, L, N, n, 0, o, r, U, Z, Ə
Greek Γ, Ζ, Ν, Ξ, Ο, ο, Π, π
Cyrillic Г, г, д, П, п, Э
Others 0, (, [, ", ^, -, /, ?
Characters What they display as on an eight-segment display
C, [, ( E
c, L, r, г t
d, U
G 6
N, Ν, λ, Π, П A
n, π, п h
o, ο b
Z, Ζ, e
0, O, Ə, Ο, д 8
Γ, Г F
Ξ
Э 9
" ˅
^ °
- `
/ μ
? P

Examples

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See also

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