Understanding the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

Definition & Meaning

The American Standard Code for Information Interchange, commonly known as ASCII, is a character encoding standard that represents text in computers and other devices that use text. It is based on the Roman alphabet as used in modern English and includes a total of 128 characters. Among these, 95 characters are printable, ranging from the space character to various punctuation marks and letters. ASCII is essential for text representation in digital communications and programming.

Table of content

Real-world examples

Here are a couple of examples of abatement:

1. A software developer uses ASCII to create a text-based application that can run on various operating systems, ensuring that the text displays correctly across all platforms.

2. A law firm prepares electronic documents in ASCII format to ensure that they can be easily shared and read by clients and other legal professionals without compatibility issues.

What to do if this term applies to you

If you are working with text data or electronic documents, ensure that you understand how ASCII encoding works. If you need to create or manage legal documents, consider using US Legal Forms' templates, which are designed to be user-friendly and compatible with ASCII. If your needs are complex, consulting a legal professional may be beneficial.

Quick facts

Attribute Details
Character Set Size 128 characters
Printable Characters 95 characters
Common Use Text representation in computers

Key takeaways

Frequently asked questions

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange.