List of information system character sets
{{Short description|none}}
This list provides an inventory of character coding standards mainly before modern standards like ISO/IEC 646 etc. Some of these standards have been deeply involved in historic events that still have consequences. One notable example of this is the ITA2 coding used during World War II (1939–1945). The nature of these standards is not as common knowledge like it is for ASCII or EBCDIC or their slang names. While 8-bit is the de facto standard as of 2016,{{Citation needed|reason=Need external verification of when this change was recognized and generally accepted, i.e. not just when 8-bit encoding became available, but when it became the predominant encoding, e.g. when did email generally stop requiring 7-bit encoding compatibility, or is it still the generally prevalent practice to assume that it still does (requires 8-bit transmission, client/server stack, and 8-bit aware data encoding and/or conversion of prior formats if required)|date=October 2019}} in the past 5-bit and 6-bit were more prevalent or their multiple.
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Code ! Introduction ! Width ! Usage |
| Morse code
| c. 1837–1840 | varies |
| Baudot code / ITA1
| 1870 | 5 bits | Piano-like telegraph operation, SIGCUM cipher operation |
| Chinese telegraph code
| 1881 | 4 digits | Chinese telegraph communications |
| Murray code
| 1901 | 5 bits | Machine run telegraph operation using punched paper, moved optimization from minimal operator fatigue to minimal machinery wear |
| ITA2
| 5 bits | Teletypewrite, Telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD), Telex, Amateur radio, Radioteletype (RTTY), Financial info by Deutsche Börse, Enigma machine and T52 during WWII |
| BCDIC
| 1928 | 6 bits | Introduced with the IBM card |
| FIELDATA
| 1956{{cn|reason=Some sources state 1957 rather than 1956. Research the truth. |date=November 2016}} | 6/7 bits | Battlefield information (USA) |
| CDC display code
| 1963 | 6 bits | Control Data Corporation computers |
| DEC SIXBIT/ECMA-1
| 1963 | 6 bits | Digital Equipment |
| EBCDIC
| 1963 | 8 bits | IBM computers |
| ASCII
| data-sort-value="1963"|1963-06-17 (ASA X3.4-1963) | 7 bits | Teleprinters and computers; original definition of ASCII |
| GOST 10859
| 1964 | 4/5/6/7 bits |
| ECMA-6
| data-sort-value="1965"|1965-04-30 | 7 bits | ASCII localization |
| ISO 646
| data-sort-value="1967"|1967 (ISO/R646-1967) | 7 bits | ASCII localization |
| ASCII
| data-sort-value="1967"|1967 (USAS X3.4-1967) | 7 bits | Close to "modern" definition of ASCII |
| Transcode
| 1967 | 7 bits |
| Recommendation V.3 IA5
| 1968 | 7 bits | |
| MARC-8
| 1968 | 7 bits | Library computer systems |
| Braille ASCII
| 1969 | 6/7 bits | Tactile print for blind persons |
| JIS X 0201
| 1969 | 6/7 bits | First Japanese electronic character set |
| ECMA-48
| 1972 | 7 bits | Terminal text manipulation and colors |
| ISO/IEC 8859
| 1987 | 8 bits | International codes |
| ISO/IEC 10646 (Unicode)
| 1991 | data-sort-value="21"|21 bits usable, packed into 8/16/32-bit code units | Unified encoding for most of the world's writing systems. As first introduced in 1991 had 16 bits; extension to 21 bits came later. |
| KPS 9566
| 1993 | | North Korean 2-byte character code set |
See also
- ANSEL
- SBCS (single-byte character set)
- DBCS (double-byte character set)
- TBCS (triple-byte character set)
- ITU T.61
- DEC Radix-50
- Cork encoding
- Prosigns for Morse code
- Telegraph code
- TV Typewriter
- SI 960 (7-bit Hebrew ISO/IEC 646)
- Figure space (typographic unit equal to the size of a single typographic figure)
- Six-bit character code
- List of binary codes
References
{{Reflist|refs=
{{Cite web |title=Enhanced Broadcast Solution – Interface Specification Final Version |publisher=Deutsche Börse |date=2010-05-17 |url=https://www9.deutsche-boerse.com/INTERNET/XETRA/x4_member.nsf/0/4502210270B32DA8C1257600005247F5/$FILE/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf/MUI11010_EnBS_FinalVersion.pdf?OpenElement |access-date=2011-08-10}}
{{cite book |url=https://textfiles.meulie.net/bitsaved/Books/Mackenzie_CodedCharSets.pdf |title=Coded Character Sets, History and Development |series=The Systems Programming Series |author-last=Mackenzie |author-first=Charles E. |date=1980 |edition=1 |publisher=Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc. |isbn=978-0-201-14460-4 |lccn=77-90165 |access-date=2019-08-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526172151/https://textfiles.meulie.net/bitsaved/Books/Mackenzie_CodedCharSets.pdf |archive-date=May 26, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}
{{cite web |title=American Standard Code for Information Interchange, ASA X3.4-1963 |publisher=American Standards Association (ASA) |date=1963-06-17 |url=http://worldpowersystems.com/archives/codes/X3.4-1963/index.html |access-date=2014-05-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160526195837/http://worldpowersystems.com/archives/codes/X3.4-1963/index.html |archive-date=2016-05-26 }}
{{cite book |title=USA Standard Code for Information Interchange, USAS X3.4-1967 |publisher=United States of America Standards Institute (USASI) |date=July 7, 1967}}
}}
External links
- [http://www.circuitousroot.com/artifice/telegraphy/tty/codes/index.html circuitousroot.com: Codes that Don't Count]