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Unicode Encoding Notes

The document explains Unicode and its encoding formats: UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. UTF-8 is the most widely used due to its variable length and compatibility with ASCII, while UTF-16 can represent 65,536 characters using 16 bits, and UTF-32 uses a fixed length of 32 bits for each character but is memory-inefficient. A flowchart is provided to help choose the appropriate encoding based on storage efficiency and encoding requirements.

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4 views2 pages

Unicode Encoding Notes

The document explains Unicode and its encoding formats: UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32. UTF-8 is the most widely used due to its variable length and compatibility with ASCII, while UTF-16 can represent 65,536 characters using 16 bits, and UTF-32 uses a fixed length of 32 bits for each character but is memory-inefficient. A flowchart is provided to help choose the appropriate encoding based on storage efficiency and encoding requirements.

Uploaded by

chipashachikwa
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© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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UNICODE ENCODING FORMATS: UTF-8, UTF-16,

UTF-32

1. Introduction
Unicode (Universal Character Code) is a standard that assigns a unique number to every character
used in human languages and symbols. To store these numbers in computers, Unicode uses
encoding formats called UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32.

2. UTF-8
UTF-8 is a variable-length encoding that uses 1 to 4 bytes. It is backward compatible with ASCII
and is the most widely used encoding on the internet.

3. UTF-16
UTF-16 uses 16 bits (2 bytes) per unit. It can represent 65,536 characters directly. Characters
beyond this range are represented using surrogate pairs (two 16-bit units).

4. UTF-32
UTF-32 uses 32 bits (4 bytes) for every character. It can represent over 4.29 billion characters and
uses fixed-length encoding, making it simple but memory-inefficient.

5. Flowchart: Choosing Unicode Encoding


Start
|
v
Is storage efficiency important?
|
+-- Yes --> Use UTF-8
|
No
|
v
Is fixed-length encoding required?
|
+-- Yes --> Use UTF-32
|
No
|
v
Use UTF-16

6. Example Exam Questions and Answers


Q1: What is Unicode?
Answer: Unicode is a universal standard that provides a unique code for every character in all languages.

Q2: How many characters can UTF-16 represent using one unit?
Answer: UTF-16 can represent 65,536 characters using one 16-bit unit.

Q3: Why is UTF-8 widely used?


Answer: UTF-8 is space-efficient, backward compatible with ASCII, and ideal for web applications.

Q4: State one advantage and one disadvantage of UTF-32.


Answer: Advantage – fixed-length encoding makes processing simple.
Disadvantage – wastes a lot of memory.

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