Gary Hecht

Table of ASCII Codes

The original ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) codes were 7 bits per code –
allowing for 128 different codes (which is sufficient for all the keys of a teletype or typewriter). Later an
eighth bit was added (which became the new MSB) since computers typically manipulate information in
multiples of 8 bits. If the MSB = 0 then the ASCII code is one of the ‘original’ 128 ASCII codes (see table
below) and if the MSB = 1 then the ASCII code is one of the 128 “Extended” ASCII codes (see lower table).
The first 32 ASCII codes (00h – 1Fh) are ‘control codes’ for teletypes of which only a few are currently used.
Note: ‘Dec’ = decimal; ‘Hx’ = hex (four bits per hex digit); ‘Oct’ = octal (three bits per octal digit)

The 128 Extended ASCII Codes (decimal value and the corresponding displayed symbol):
Note: 128 = 80h
255 = FFh