Character set
Definition of Character set
A character set defines which characters are available and what number (code point) each one gets. ASCII's character set has 128 entries. CP437 has 256. Unicode has space for 1,114,112.
Confusingly, "character set" and "character encoding" are often used interchangeably, but they are different things. The character set is the roster of characters. The encoding is how those code points become bytes. Unicode is a character set; UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 are three different encodings of that same set. The HTTP
Confusingly, "character set" and "character encoding" are often used interchangeably, but they are different things. The character set is the roster of characters. The encoding is how those code points become bytes. Unicode is a character set; UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 are three different encodings of that same set. The HTTP
charset header actually specifies the encoding, not the character set - another historical misnaming. Browse our character sets reference for all 22 encodings we cover.