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ASCII World

Delete

Delete - quick reference

DEL is ASCII code 127 (binary 1111111 - all seven bits set to 1). It was designed for paper tape correction: punching all holes in a position effectively erased whatever character had been there, since the tape reader would ignore an all-ones pattern. This is why DEL is code 127 rather than sitting with the other control characters at 0-31.

Do not confuse DEL (code 127) with Backspace (code 8). The Delete key on modern keyboards typically sends DEL in terminal mode but may send an escape sequence (ESC [ 3 ~) in other contexts. In programming, \x7F represents DEL. You will rarely need it outside terminal programming or binary protocol work.

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