On Wed, 08 Mar 2000 21:10:56 -000, Mike Millen wrote:
> SH> All I know is that there are 256 characters in the standard ascii
> SH> chart.
> RM> NO!! ASCII are only the first 128 characters !!!!
> Precisely.
> SH> I don't know if there is a difference between
> SH> US ascii and standard ascii.
> RM> No ... both are 7 bit (128 characters)
There are many popularly accepted "standard" reference sources that show
an ascii table consisting of 256 characters. If ascii does indeed have
only 128 characters then there ought to be a footnote and explanation
about it in all of the "standard" reference sources. This is why we
have a problem. People do not agree on what are the "standard" rules and
what rules are merely "dealer's choice". Any set of rules may be agreed
upon, but all players must understand whose rules will regulate the game.
As I interpret what has been explained to me on this list, there are 256
ALT + NUM characters. The first 128 of these are ascii characters. All of
the the rest are "wild". If you are holding a wild character, you can call
it anything you want, just like in a card game, right?
In a card game it is easy for a player to declare the "value" of his wild
cards in a manner that all other players will readily understand. In email
it is very difficult to describe the "value" of an ALT + NUM character,
especially one that is greater than 128.
IMHO, there ought to be a "standard" universally accepted chart for all
256 ALT + NUM characters. Of course I realize that only 256 characters
will not be enough for all the world's languages, but 256 will suffice for
most European languages. Other languages may simply use some other system.
Sam Heywood
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