ASCII·W
87
W
0x57 · 1010111

ASCII 87 — the W character

Uppercase

W is 87 in decimal, 57 in hex and 1010111 in binary. It sits 32 away from w.

A starts at 65 and twenty-six letters follow.

Seven bits

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

1010111

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

Kind
Uppercase
Decimal
87
Hexadecimal
0x57
Octal
127
Binary
1010111
HTML entity
W
URL encoding
W
CSS escape
\57
With Ctrl held
ETB (23)
Case pair
w (119)

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 W?

Decimal 87, hex 57, octal 127, binary 1010111.

Q. How do I write W in HTML?

As W.

Q. How does it go in a URL?

It can stay as it is — this character needs no encoding.

Q. Does W have a partner?

w — the codes are 32 apart.