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ASCII is standardized in (latest version) ANSI X3.4-1986, not by an internet RFC. That standard did not define an 8-bit encoding of ASCII, only a 7-bit encoding
by SAI_Peregrinus 3y ago
ASCII is standardized in (latest version) ANSI X3.4-1986, not by an internet RFC. That standard did not define an 8-bit encoding of ASCII, only a 7-bit encoding. That the IETF later called an 8-bit encoding ASCII just causes confusion. IMO they should have called it ISCII, for IETF Standard Code for Information Interchange.
- LegionMammal978 3y agoThe 8-bit "ASCII Format for Network Interchange" (generally called "network ASCII" or "net-ASCII" or similar in older RFCs) is defined in the very first paragraph of RFC 20: > For concreteness, we suggest the use of standard 7-bit ASCII embedded in an 8 bit byte whose high order bit is always 0. Meanwhile, ANSI X3.4-1986 defines the "7-Bit American National Standard Code for Information Interchange (7-Bit ASCII)". Even the older standard calls it the "USA Standard Code for Information Interchange", i.e., "US-ASCII". None of these standards define "ASCII". It's up to us to interpret "ASCII" as "7-bit ASCII" or "US-ASCII" or "network ASCII" or any other form of ASCII according to context; there is no monopoly on the unqualified term.