a binary code for text as well as communications and printer control. It is used for most communications and is the built-in character code in most minicomputers and all personal computers. ASCII is a 7-bit code providing 128 character combinations, the first 32 of which are control characters. Since the common storage unit is an 8-bit byte (256 combinations) and ASCII uses only 7 bits, the extra bit is used differently depending on the computer., ASCII - American Standard Code for Information Interchange, "Ameerika infovahetus-standardkood", 7-bitine kood tekstinfo kodeerimiseks