Character sets questions and answers
Q1. Explain what is meant by a ‘character set’.
A1. A character set is the set of symbols that we can represent on a computer system.
Q2. What is the most common character set used in the West and the English speaking world?
A2. ASCII
Q3. What does ASCII stand for?
A3. American Standard Code for Information Interchange
Q4. Find out and name one other character set apart from ASCII (there are a number to choose from).
A4. E.g. Unicode
Q5. How many codes are represented in ASCII?
A5. 128
Q6. How many codes are represented in Extended ASCII?
A6. 256
Q7. What is the difference between zero and null (often written 'nul')?
A7. Zero is an amount. Null is unknown.
Q8. What is the ASCII code for A?
A8. 65
Q9. Without looking at the ASCII table, what is the ASCII code for D?
A9. 68 (The ASCII table is organised. If you memorise a few key codes like A, a and 0, you can work out many of the other codes.)
Q10. What are the ASCII codes from 1 to 31 to do with?
A10. These are codes to do with enabling communications to take place e.g. to a printer.