How to Use the Interactive ASCII Table
Our interactive ASCII table displays all 128 ASCII characters with their decimal, hexadecimal, octal, binary, and HTML entity representations. Whether you are a programmer, web developer, or student learning about character encoding, this reference tool makes it easy to find and understand any ASCII character.
Browse the table. All 128 ASCII characters are displayed in a grid format. Control characters (0-31, 127) are highlighted differently from printable characters (32-126) for easy identification. Each cell shows the character along with its decimal code.
Search and filter. Use the search box to find characters by name, decimal value, hex value, or the character itself. The table updates in real-time to show only matching characters, making it easy to find specific codes quickly.
Click for details. Click any character to see its complete representation in all number bases (decimal, hexadecimal, octal, binary) plus its HTML entity. Copy any value with a single click for use in your code.
Understanding ASCII Encoding
ASCII was developed by the American Standards Association (now ANSI) in 1963 and has been the most influential character encoding in computing history. Every modern encoding system, including UTF-8 which powers the web, is backward-compatible with ASCII. Understanding ASCII is fundamental to working with text in any programming language.
The 128 ASCII characters are organized into four groups. Codes 0-31 are control characters used for device control and text formatting. Code 32 is the space character. Codes 33-126 are printable characters including letters, digits, and symbols. Code 127 is the DEL (delete) control character. This organization reflects the hardware constraints and communication protocols of the 1960s era.
ASCII in Modern Programming
Despite being over 60 years old, ASCII remains central to modern software development. Programming languages use ASCII values for character comparison, string sorting, and input validation. Network protocols like HTTP, SMTP, and FTP use ASCII for their command structures. File formats like CSV, JSON, and XML are built on ASCII-compatible encoding.
Common programming uses of ASCII include checking if a character is a digit (codes 48-57), uppercase letter (65-90), or lowercase letter (97-122). The relationship between uppercase and lowercase letters (differing by exactly 32) enables efficient case conversion. The sequential ordering of digits and letters enables alphabetical sorting using simple numeric comparison.