Alphanumeric Codes | ASCII code | EBCDIC Code | UNICODE

What is Alphanumeric Code?

Alphanumeric codes (also known as character codes) are defined as binary codes used to represent alphanumeric data. The codes write alphanumeric data, including letters of the alphabet, mathematical symbols, numbers, and punctuation marks, in a form that is easily understood by a computer.

Input-output devices such as keyboards, monitors, and mouses can be interfaced using these codes.

12-bit Hollerith code is the better known and perhaps the first effective code in the days of evolving computers in early days.

During this period punch cards were used as the inputting and outputting data. But nowadays, these codes are termed obsolete as many other modern codes have evolved.

The most common alphanumeric codes used these days are ASCII code, EBCDIC code, and UNICODE. Will will discuss each of these alphanumeric codes (and give examples) below.

ASCII Code

The full form of ASCII code is the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a seven-bit code based on the English alphabet.

In 1967 this code was first published and since then it is being modified and updated. ASCII code has 128 characters some of which are enlisted below to get familiar with the code.

There are many more codes which are not included here.

EBCDIC Code

EBCDIC stands for Extended Binary Coded Decimal Interchange Code. IBM invented this code to extend the Binary Coded Decimal which existed at that time. All the IBM computers and peripherals use this code. It is an 8-bit code and therefore can accommodate 256 characters. Below are given some characters of EBCDIC code to get familiar with it.

UNICODE

Unicode is the newest concept in digital coding. In Unicode every number has a unique character. Leading technological giants have adopted this code for its uniqueness. A part of the Unicode table is given below.