Character

A character refers to a single letter, symbol, or punctuation mark used to represent text. Characters are the basic building blocks of written language and are used to express ideas, communicate information, and convey emotions. In computing, characters are represented by numerical values known as code points, which are assigned by character encoding standards such as Unicode.

Unicode is the most widely used character encoding standard, which assigns code points to characters from multiple scripts, including but not limited to Latin, Greek, Chinese, Japanese, and emoji. This allows computers to handle text in multiple languages and scripts, as well as symbols and emoji, consistently across platforms and applications.

Characters can also have various attributes, such as font, size, and color, that determine how they appear when displayed on a screen or printed on paper. These attributes allow for creative expression and can be used to enhance the visual appeal of text.

In short, characters are the basic units of written language, and in computing, they are represented by code points to facilitate the storage and processing of text in computers. The use of characters and character encoding standards such as Unicode is essential for the exchange of text data between systems and applications.