What is UTF-16? Easy-to-understand explanation of the basic concepts of character codes and how to use them
In the world of computers, character encoding is a fundamental concept that allows us to represent and process text. One of the widely used character encoding schemes is UTF-16 (Unicode Transformation Format, 16-bit).
What is UTF-16?
UTF-16 is an extension of the Unicode character set. Unicode is a universal character encoding standard that aims to represent every character used by humans, regardless of the language or script. UTF-16 specifically represents these characters in a 16-bit format, using one or two 16-bit code units per character.
The basic idea behind character encoding is to assign unique numeric values to characters. These numeric values, called code points, are used by computers to store, transmit, and process text. In UTF-16, each code point is represented by one or two 16-bit values.
How does UTF-16 work?
UTF-16 uses a variable-length encoding scheme. Basic characters, known as the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) characters, are represented by a single 16-bit code unit. This means that commonly used characters such as Latin letters, numbers, and basic punctuation can be stored in a single 16-bit unit.
However, Unicode includes a vast range of characters beyond the BMP, which requires more than 16 bits to represent them all. Supplementary characters, also known as surrogate pairs, are represented by two 16-bit code units. These pairs work together to represent characters outside the BMP.
When a character falls within the BMP, it is represented by a single 16-bit code unit. For characters outside the BMP, two 16-bit code units are used. This variable-length encoding allows UTF-16 to efficiently represent a wide range of characters while still providing backward compatibility with older 16-bit character sets.
How to use UTF-16?
Using UTF-16 in programming languages or text editors is relatively straightforward. Libraries and frameworks often provide built-in functions or methods to handle UTF-16 encoding and decoding.
When working with UTF-16, it’s essential to keep in mind the variable-length nature of the encoding. You should consider the possibility of surrogate pairs when dealing with characters outside the BMP. It’s recommended to use libraries or native string types that handle encoding automatically to avoid potential issues.
In conclusion, UTF-16 is a character encoding scheme that represents Unicode characters using 16-bit code units. It allows the representation of a vast range of characters while maintaining compatibility with older 16-bit character sets. Understanding UTF-16 is crucial when dealing with text encoding and processing in various programming scenarios.
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