ASCII·RS
30
RS
0x1E · 0011110

ASCII 30 — the RS character

Not a visible character

RS is control code 30, hex 1E. You type it as ^^, and it draws nothing on screen.

Characters that draw nothing and instead tell the device to do something.

What this control code did

Record separator

Separators · Four nested separators: file, group, record, unit.

Seven bits

ASCII is seven bits wide, which is why there are 128 of them. The eighth bit was long left for parity.

0011110

One bit — the sixth, worth 32 — separates the cases. Off gives a capital, on gives a lowercase letter.

Kind
Control
Decimal
30
Hexadecimal
0x1E
Octal
036
Binary
0011110
HTML entity

URL encoding
%1E
CSS escape
\1E
Ctrl key
^^

The chart

Eight columns for the top three bits, sixteen rows for the bottom four. The capitals column sits right beside the lowercase one — that is the shape of the table.

Codes either side

How to read this

  • Add 32 to a capital and you get the lowercase letter — one bit flips.
  • Digits start at 48, so subtracting 48 from the code gives the number.
  • Holding Ctrl clears the top three bits — that is why Ctrl+I is a tab.
  • Everything under 32, plus 127, draws nothing. Those show their abbreviation instead.

Frequently asked questions

Q. What is the ASCII code for RS?

Decimal 30, hex 1E, octal 036, binary 0011110.

Q. How do I write RS in HTML?

As .

Q. How does it go in a URL?

It is encoded as %1E.

Q. How do I type RS?

^^.