ISO 8859-2018, also known as ISO/IEC 8859-2018, is an international standard for defining character sets and encodings. It is part of the ISO/IEC 8859 series, which was created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). This article will provide a thorough technical explanation of ISO 8859-2018.
History and Purpose
The ISO/IEC 8859 series was first introduced in the late 1980s as a standardized way to represent characters from various writing systems. The aim was to create a set of character encodings that could be used universally across different computer systems and software applications.
ISO 8859-2018 specifically focuses on the Latin alphabet No. 5, which is primarily used for the Turkish language. The previous version, ISO 8859-1999, included a limited set of Turkish characters. However, ISO 8859-2018 expands upon this by incorporating additional characters to fully support the Turkish language.
Character Set and Encoding
The ISO 8859-2018 standard defines a character set of 256 characters, where each character is represented by an 8-bit value. This allows for easy compatibility with older systems and ensures that all characters within the set can be uniquely identified.
The encoding used in ISO 8859-2018 is commonly referred to as "Latin-5" or "ISO 8859-9." It assigns each character in the set a unique code point, which is then represented by a specific bit pattern. This encoding enables computers to interpret and display the characters correctly.
Usage and Impact
ISO 8859-2018 is primarily used in software applications and systems that need to support the Turkish language. It ensures that all Turkish characters, including special characters like "ğ" and "ş," can be accurately displayed and processed.
Furthermore, ISO 8859-2018 has a significant impact on data interchange and communication between different computer systems. It facilitates seamless exchange of text containing Turkish characters without any loss or corruption of information.
In conclusion, ISO 8859-2018 is an international standard that plays a crucial role in supporting the Turkish language and ensuring interoperability between computer systems. Its comprehensive character set and encoding allow for accurate representation and processing of Turkish text in various software applications and communication channels.