Questions about the Unicode & Encoding poster

What’s on the Unicode & Encoding poster?

A definition and 6 facts worth remembering. Unicode assigns a number — a code point — to every character. An encoding decides how those numbers become bytes. UTF-8 is the encoding that won, and for good reasons. UTF-8 uses 1 byte for ASCII, up to 4 for the rest.; It is backwards compatible with ASCII, byte for byte.; A code point is not a character: é can be one or two.; A character is not a byte, and neither is a grapheme.; Emoji are often several code points joined by zero-width joiners.; String length differs by what you count: bytes, code points or graphemes.; Code points — ~150,000; UTF-8 — 1–4 bytes; Web share — 98%+; A family emoji is one visible character built from three emoji and two joiners: five…. Mojibake is text decoded with the wrong encoding. It is unrecoverable once re-saved, so fix it at the source.

Who is the Unicode & Encoding poster for?

Unicode & Encoding belongs to the Computing section rather than to a school year, because computing is not something one grade owns. Anyone learning foundations can pin it up — a beginner, a student mid-course, or someone revising years later.

When should you use the Unicode & Encoding poster?

Use UTF-8 everywhere. Every remaining encoding bug is a place that assumed something else. A wall chart earns its place by being glanceable from where the work is happening, so Unicode & Encoding belongs on the wall where that computing work actually happens, within glancing distance, rather than filed away.

What other posters go with Unicode & Encoding?

Big-O Complexity, Binary, Hex & Decimal and Bits, Bytes & Sizes sit alongside Unicode & Encoding in the Computing section. Printed together they make a wall rather than a single sheet, which is how a reference set actually gets used.Big-O ComplexityBinary, Hex & DecimalBits, Bytes & Sizes

Is the Unicode & Encoding poster free to download and print?

Yes. Unicode & Encoding downloads as a free PDF with no account, no email and no watermark, like everything else in the Computing section. Print as many copies as you like for a home, a classroom, a library or a tutoring group; reselling the file is the only thing the licence rules out.Read the licence

What size does the Unicode & Encoding poster print at?

Unicode & Encoding is a vector PDF laid out for US Letter, and prints on A4 with Fit to page — the same file, no separate download. Because every mark on it is drawn rather than photographed, it stays sharp enlarged to A3, A2 or A1 at a copy shop. Colour carries emphasis only, so a greyscale print of Unicode & Encoding loses nothing.Printing guide