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ASCII character set

ASCII character set

5.2
A set of 128 basic computer characters for letters, numbers, symbols, and control codes
  • noun
  • /ˈæskiˌkaɪ ˈkɛrɪktər sɛt/
  • Specialized
translation icon : conjunto de caracteres ASCII
  • Most early computers could only display the ASCII character set on their screens.

Examples

  • When saving a file as plain text, only the ASCII character set is guaranteed to be preserved.

  • All text files are saved using characters from the ASCII character set.

  • The ASCII character set does not include characters with accents or other diacritics.

  • The ASCII character set includes letters and symbols.

  • The ASCII character set is fundamental for text files.

  • The program only accepts input that includes symbols from the ASCII character set.

  • When coding in Python, you can use letters and numbers from the ASCII character set without any issues.

Synonyms

ASCII
vsASCII character set
  • Specialized
1 4.6

A system that gives a number to each letter, digit, and symbol so computers can share text

refers specifically to the fixed set of 128 characters used in computers
character set
vsASCII character set
  • Specialized
1 4.1

A group of letters, numbers, and symbols used for writing and showing text

is a specific 128-character instance of such a collection used in computing

How Many

character set
  • Specialized
1 4.1
ASCII character set
  • Specialized
5.2
subset
  • Specialized
47 3.6

Surface Forms

Morphology

ASCII + character + set

The phrase is a straightforward compositional noun phrase: 'ASCII' names an encoding standard, 'character' means a symbol, and 'set' means a group, so together they denote the group of symbols defined by the ASCII standard. This follows normal English modifier + head patterns, so a learner who knows the three constituents can derive the meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

The noun ASCII character set comes from an early computer 'standard' that gave every letter, number and symbol its own number so machines could 'talk' to each other. So today ASCII character set means the basic set of 128 characters computers use to 'represent' letters, numbers and simple symbols.