ASCII is a standardized character code for the representation of text in digital systems. It defines which numerical bit pattern is assigned to a specific character. This ensures that different computers, operating systems and devices can interpret and exchange characters identically. ASCII is one of the fundamental standards of digital data communication and still forms the basis of many modern character encodings today.
The original ASCII standard used 7 bits per character. This allows you to 128 different characters (0-127) represent. These consist of 33 non-printable control characters and 95 printable characters together. The printable characters include letters, numbers, punctuation marks and some special characters. The control characters are used for formatting, controlling data transfers or communication between devices, among other things.
In many computer systems, ASCII is used in a 8-bit byte stored. The additional eighth bit can be used as Parity bit are used for error detection or to extend the character set. Such extensions are often called Extended ASCII and enable the display of additional characters, such as special national characters.
In the Measurement and automation technology, for example with systems from Delphin Technology, ASCII plays an important role in the Data exchange between measuring devices, controllers and software. Measured values, status information or control commands are often transmitted as ASCII character strings, as the format is easy to read, standardized and supported in almost all communication protocols. This allows devices from different manufacturers to be reliably integrated and data to be easily logged or further processed.
Although modern character encodings such as Unicode support significantly more characters, ASCII continues to be the standard. Basis for many communication and data formats and is particularly widespread in technical interfaces and protocols.