Merkistönkoodi

Merkistönkoodi, often translated as character encoding, is a system that assigns a unique numerical value to each character in a given set of characters, such as letters, numbers, and symbols. This numerical representation allows computers to store, process, and transmit text data. Without character encoding, digital devices would not be able to understand or display characters consistently.

Early character encoding systems like ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) were developed to handle the English alphabet and basic punctuation. ASCII uses 7 bits to represent 128 characters. As the need arose to represent characters from other languages and a wider range of symbols, extended versions of ASCII and other encoding schemes emerged.

One of the most significant developments in character encoding is Unicode. Unicode is a universal character set that aims to include all characters used in written languages worldwide, as well as various symbols and emojis. Unicode assigns a unique code point to each character. However, the actual storage of these code points in memory or files requires an encoding form, such as UTF-8, UTF-16, or UTF-32. UTF-8 is particularly popular due to its backward compatibility with ASCII and its efficient use of space for common characters.

The choice of character encoding can have implications for data integrity and interoperability. If data is encoded using one scheme and interpreted using another, it can lead to garbled text or Mojibake, where characters are displayed incorrectly. Therefore, understanding and correctly applying character encodings are crucial for seamless communication and data exchange across different systems and platforms.