0x1A

0x1A denotes the byte with hexadecimal value 1A, which is decimal 26. The 0x prefix is commonly used to indicate hexadecimal notation in programming and data representation.

In ASCII, 0x1A corresponds to the control character SUB, short for substitute. In Unicode, the same value is U+001A, a non-printing control character with no visible glyph.

Historical usage: In DOS and early Windows environments, 0x1A was used as an end-of-file marker for text input. The keyboard combination Ctrl+Z sends 0x1A, signaling end-of-file to programs reading from the console or redirected input. Some text editors and command-line tools map this byte to EOF in text streams, although this behavior is not universal.

In contemporary computing, 0x1A may occur as data within binary files, network protocols, or embedded formats. Because it is a non-printing control character, its presence can cause issues with text-processing tools if not handled explicitly, and many parsers treat it as data rather than a control signal.

See also: ASCII, Unicode, End-of-file, Control character, 26 (decimal).