Impact of the ASCII code and printing devices on conventions for alphanumeric display terminals: Part 1

This paper reviews briefly the evolution of the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) and its international version (IS0 R-646). It also reviews the evolutionary impact of typewriters, teletypewriters, and the ASCII code on conventions now employed in alphanumeric display terminals. It shows a proposed keyboard layout, some approved graphic subsets of ASCII, and some codes used in computers. Current developments in the representation of extended versions of ASCII in 7 and 8 bits are given. Proposed code assignments of control functions for alphanumeric display terminals are also included, with a warning that their Standardization is under the jurisdiction of the American National Standards Institute´s Technical Committee X3L2 on Character Codes.