Why UTF-8 instead of ASCII?

Using UTF-8 instead of ASCII is beneficial for several reasons

The adoption of UTF-8 over the archaic ASCII encoding system is a decision driven by multiple factors that cater to the needs of a globalized, digitally-connected world.

Unicode support

Firstly, the capacity of UTF-8 to represent an extensive array of characters from diverse languages and symbol sets caters to the demands of a multilingual world. In contrast, ASCII’s limited 128-character repertoire — comprising solely of basic English letters, digits, and punctuation marks — falls short in today’s interconnected landscape.

Backward compatibility

Secondly, UTF-8’s design inherently ensures backward compatibility with ASCII, as the two share identical representations for the first 128 characters. Consequently, a transition from ASCII to UTF-8 can be executed seamlessly, with minimal disruptions to existing systems.

Variable-length encoding

Moreover, UTF-8’s variable-length encoding scheme allows for efficient representation of complex characters while minimizing storage requirements for simpler, frequently-used ones. By using 1 to 4 bytes per character, depending on the intricacy, UTF-8 strikes a balance between storage efficiency and character diversity.

Self-synchronization

Additionally, UTF-8’s self-synchronization feature facilitates error detection and recovery, as well as expediting the processes of searching and parsing text. Its distinct byte structure — with the high-order bit set to 1 for all but the last byte of a multi-byte character — enhances its robustness and reliability.

Widely adopted

Lastly, the wide adoption of UTF-8 across the web, programming languages, databases, operating systems, and text editors ensures enhanced compatibility and interoperability among various systems and technologies.

In sum, the shift from ASCII to UTF-8 is underpinned by the latter’s versatility, efficiency, and suitability for a modern, interconnected world.