Have you ever wondered what is it, what is it for and what is the importance of the ASCII Code? Then you are in the right place, because we will talk in a simple but profound way about the so-called ASCII code.
You may not know it, but the ASCII code is very important for computing, so much so that in large part it owes significant advances to computing as we know it today. Today we will talk about this code so relevant to what would later become the digital revolution.
On the other hand, before starting we recommend you to know the differences between the types of Hardware and Software , because today we will talk specifically about a section pertaining to software.
The language of computers
To understand the full extent of the ASCII code, it is necessary to assimilate the operation of a computer. Computers do not understand symbols or letters, they can only assimilate numbers and it is through them that we can show all the things we see on the screen.
This is where the so-called binary code is born, which becomes the fundamental basis of computing and if you have doubts you can learn about binary files with our guides. The truth is that through zeros and ones (0,1) characters, images, videos and even very complex video games and programs can be represented later.
It can be a bit difficult to assimilate, but indeed everything we observe is based on this. Later come the so-called programming languages and codes, which give support to make much more complex systems. It is in this space that the so-called ASCII code is located.
What is it, what is it for and what is the importance of the ASCII Code?
When we speak of ASCII code, we are explicitly referring to the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, which would be translated as the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. As its name suggests, this code is intended to be a standard for character representation .
What is the ASCII code?
The ASCII code is based on the Latin alphabet, which is one of the most used around the world, in any case, it is specifically focused on the English language, so some characters typical of the Spanish language are not represented, at least not in the first version of the code.
The ASCII code standard is based on a 7-bit system , through which 95 characters are represented to be printed and another 32 characters that are not to be printed. The 95 characters mentioned above are the graphical representation of the English language within our computers.
On the other hand, as we pointed out previously, there are other 32 characters that cannot be printed, these arise from the need to perform certain actions that are not visible with a character. For example, a non-printable character would be the action of “delete” and many other actions of the computer.
Importance of the ASCII code
The ASCII code is capable of representing characters from the English language, something essential in classical computers. This code saw the light in 1963 and since then it has propelled the development of computing, up to what we know today.
There are several codes similar to this one, which could be even more complete, as is the case of ISO / IEC 8859-1 , with which more characters and therefore more languages can be represented. In any case, the ASCII code, being the first internationally recognized standard, propelled the appearance and massification of computing.
ISO / IEC 8859-1
ISO / IEC 8859-1 is an ISO standard (International Organization for Standardization or International Organization for Standardization). The standard is related to the Latin alphabet code, but unlike the ASCII code , it can include multiple characters present in other languages.
It is listed as the international standard, and is capable of representing characters present in at least 19 languages . It contains 191 characters present in the Latin languages and is used as the standard in multiple nations around the world.
What we have pointed out above is only part of how computers work. In addition to the above, if you are curious and want to learn to program from a mobile , remember that we have guides in this regard.
