EUC

EUC is an acronym that can refer to more than one concept in computing. The two most widely used meanings are End-User Computing, a field describing the technologies and practices that enable non-technical users to operate and benefit from computer systems, and Extended Unix Code, a family of character encoding schemes used for East Asian scripts. The intended meaning is usually clear from the context in which it appears.

End-User Computing (EUC) refers to the set of hardware, software, services, and processes that empower end users to perform computing tasks with minimal direct IT intervention. It covers client devices such as desktops, laptops, and mobile devices, as well as the applications, data access, security policies, and help-desk support that enable productivity. In enterprise environments, EUC often includes desktop virtualization, mobile device management, software as a service, and self-service IT portals, with an emphasis on user experience and governance separate from core data center infrastructure.

Extended Unix Code is a family of 8- and multi-byte character encodings designed for East Asian languages. Variants such as EUC-JP, EUC-KR, and EUC-CN were widely used on UNIX and UNIX-like systems before the widespread adoption of Unicode. EUC encodes characters in a mix of single- and multi-byte sequences and is typically associated with legacy data and systems. Modern applications commonly use Unicode encodings, such as UTF-8, but EUC remains encountered in older files and some specialized contexts.

In other contexts, EUC may stand for other terms depending on field or region, so clarification is typically required when the acronym is encountered. See also Unicode, desktop virtualization, and character encoding.