Coded character sets

Graphic characters are printable or displayable symbols, such as letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. A collection of graphic characters is called a graphic-character set, and often simply a character set.

Each language requires its own graphic-character set to be printed or displayed properly. Characters are encoded according to a code page, which is a table that assigns graphic and control characters to specific values called code points.

Code pages are classified into many types according to the encoding scheme. Two important encoding schemes for the IBM® i Access Family are the Host and PC code pages. Unicode also is becoming an important encoding scheme. Unicode is a 16-bit worldwide character encoding scheme that is gaining popularity on both the Host and the personal computer.

• Host code pages are encoded in accordance with IBM Standard of Extended BCD Interchange Code (EBCDIC) and usually used by S/390® and on the IBM i platform.
• PC Code pages are encoded based on ANSI X3.4, ASCII and usually used by IBM Personal Computers.