Complete ASCII Table Generator & Reference
Explore character encoding with interactive decimal, hexadecimal, and binary conversions
Character Encoding Converter
Tip: Change any field to automatically convert between formats
Configure your table settings above and click "Generate Table"
Character Information
Understanding ASCII and Character Encoding
The History of ASCII
ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) was developed in the 1960s to standardize character encoding across computers. The original 7-bit standard defined 128 characters (0-127), including:
- 33 non-printable control characters (0-31 and 127)
- 94 printable characters (32-126) including letters, digits, and punctuation
- 1 delete character (127)
Fun Fact: The ASCII code for uppercase 'A' is 65 (decimal), 0x41 (hex), or 01000001 (binary). This standardization allowed different computers to exchange text data reliably.
Extended ASCII and Unicode
As computing became global, ASCII's limitations led to extensions:
Extended ASCII (8-bit): Added 128 more characters (128-255) for symbols, accented letters, and box-drawing characters
Unicode: Modern standard supporting over 140,000 characters from world scripts, emoji, and technical symbols
Note: Our tool includes a basic Unicode reference (0-1023) covering Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, and common symbols.
Practical Applications of ASCII Codes
Programming
ASCII codes are fundamental in programming for character manipulation:
// Convert character to ASCII code
char letter = 'A';
int asciiCode = (int)letter; // 65
// Check if character is a digit
if (asciiCode >= 48 && asciiCode <= 57) {
// It's a digit (0-9)
} Tip: Use our converter tool to quickly find ASCII values when debugging character-related code.
Data Processing
Understanding ASCII control characters helps with text processing:
- LF (10): Line Feed (Unix line endings)
- CR (13): Carriage Return (Mac line endings)
- CR+LF (13+10): Windows line endings
- TAB (9): Horizontal tab
- DEL (127): Delete character
Example: Use our table's highlight feature to quickly identify all control characters.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between ASCII and Unicode?
ASCII is a 7-bit encoding (128 characters) developed for English text. Unicode is a much larger standard that encompasses ASCII as its first 128 characters but extends to support virtually all writing systems. While ASCII uses 1 byte per character, Unicode characters can require 1-4 bytes depending on the encoding (UTF-8, UTF-16, etc.).
Why do some ASCII characters not display properly?
Characters 0-31 are non-printable control characters originally used for device control. Their display depends on your system's interpretation. Extended ASCII characters (128-255) may appear differently across systems because various "code pages" assigned different symbols to these values before Unicode standardization.
How can I type ASCII characters using keyboard codes?
On Windows, hold Alt and type the decimal code on the numeric keypad (e.g., Alt+65 for 'A'). On Mac, use Option key combinations for special characters. Our tool helps you find these codes quickly - search for a character to see its decimal, hex, and binary values.
What are the most important ASCII codes to remember?
Key codes include: 32 (space), 48-57 (digits 0-9), 65-90 (A-Z), 97-122 (a-z). Important control characters: 9 (Tab), 10 (Line Feed), 13 (Carriage Return), 27 (Escape). Use our highlight feature to focus on specific character ranges.
How does UTF-8 relate to ASCII?
UTF-8 is backward compatible with ASCII - the first 128 Unicode characters (U+0000 to U+007F) are identical to ASCII and use just 1 byte. This makes UTF-8 ideal for English text while supporting international characters when needed. Our Unicode basics table shows these first 1024 code points.