Data is one of the significant parts of every organization. So does its storage, therefore it is stored by different methods.
Encoding is a method used for the storage of data in an external place, it allows to convert data into a format that can be used for external processes. Apparently, ANSI and UTF 8 are the most popular encoding formats.
Key Takeaways
- ANSI and UTF-8 are both character encoding standards used in computer systems.
- ANSI uses one byte per character and supports fewer characters than UTF-8.
- UTF-8 uses one to four bytes per character and supports a wider range of characters than ANSI.
ANSI vs UTF 8
The difference between ANSI and UTF 8 is that ANSI uses fixed bytes, while UTF 8 uses multibyte. Secondly, ANSI is fixed, while UTF 8 is more flexible. Thirdly, ANSI can use only 256 characters as it uses a byte. Meanwhile, UTF has 1,112, 064 characters as it uses multibyte. Fourthly, ANSI doesn’t have a distinct code point for each character, while UTF 8 has a distinct code point for every character. Lastly, ANSI is used for running old applications, while UTF 8 is used for creating new applications.
ANSI is an encoding format which is developed by American National Standard Institute. ANSI uses 8 bits for each character, therefore has fixed bytes.
Besides, it can only use 256 characters due to fixed bytes. With that, each character doesn’t have a distinct code point. Moreover, it is mostly used to run old applications.
UTF 8 is an encoding format that is the most prominent encoding for the World Wide Web till now. UTF 8 uses multibyte for each character, therefore has a variable-width character.
Besides, it can use 1,112,064 characters due to multibyte encoding. With that, each character also has a distinct code point. Moreover, it is mostly used to create new applications.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | ANSI | UTF 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Use of Bytes | ANSI uses fixed bytes. | UTF 8 uses multibyte. |
| Encoding | ANSI is a fixed encoding format. | UTF 8 is more flexible. |
| Total characters | ANSI can use only 256 characters as it uses a byte. | UTF 8 has 1,112, 064 characters as it uses multibyte. |
| Code point | ANSI doesn’t have a distinct code point for each character. | UTF 8 has a distinct code point for every character. |
| Use | ANSI is used for running old applications. | UTF 8 is used for creating new applications. |
What is ANSI?
Data is converted to an encoding format for further processing of the external storage. ANSI is an encoding format that is used to do so and was developed by American National Standard Institue.
Additionally, it also offers modified ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) formats.
It is said to be an extension of the ASCII characters set, therefore it uses 8bits rather than 7 bits. And it is a Microsoft-related standard used for character set encoding. Apparently, it is a modified version of the ASCII character set.
The basic difference between ASCII and ANSI is that ASCII uses 7 bits to define each character, while ANSI uses 8 bits to define each character.
Although the development from ASCII to ANSI was to keep up with the evolving technologies, thereby making communication faster and more reliable.
Moreover, due to the lack of characters, ANSI was short-lived as English was not the native language of many countries. However, it is still useful but only for western languages.
Furthermore, ANSI utilizes 8 bits to define each character. Besides, it only has 256 characters in total that are very confined as compared to other encoding formats.
With that, it also doesn’t have a distinct code point for each character as well. And it is mostly used to run old applications.
What is UTF 8?
Another character encoding format, UTF 8 is mostly used for electronic communication and is defined by Unicode standards. The name was derived from the Unicode Transformation format itself.
Besides, it is an international standard for representing characters as integers.
Apparently, UTF 8 uses one to four-byte (8bits) to define character code points. In comparison to another encoding format, such as ASCII uses 7bits to define, while ANSI uses 8 bits to define its character. UTF 8 characters are not at all limited,
Being the most common Universal transformational format used to transform Unicode characters. The characters are converted into 8bits segment to be sent over an email or other 8-bit channels.
Each Unicode character is changed to one to four octets but it depends on its integral value.
Moreover, Unicode characters having lower integral values are encoded using fewer bytes and occur more frequently. As UTF 8 was developed as backward compatibility of ASCII, therefore the first 128 characters resonate with ASCII characters.
Furthermore, UTF 8 utilizes multibyte to define each character, thereby it has a variable-width character. Besides, it has 1,112,064 characters in total that is quite flexible compared to other encoding formats.
With that, it has a distinct code point for each character as well. And it is mostly used to create new applications.
Main Differences Between ANSI and UTF 8
Data has always been an eminent part of the world. From storage to the transmission of data, many methods are used to do so. Apparently, data is converter to a format that can easily be processed by an external storage.
For doing so, there are encoding formats that help in the conversion and transmission of data to a readable format. Moreover, ANSI and UTF 8 are encoding formats, they are very different from each other.
- ANSI uses fixed bytes, while UTF 8 uses multibyte.
- ANSI is fixed, while UTF 8 is more flexible.
- ANSI can use only 256 characters as it uses a byte. Meanwhile, UTF has 1,112, 064 characters as it uses multibyte.
- ANSI doesn’t have a distinct code point for each character, while UTF 8 has a distinct code point for every character.
- ANSI is used for running old applications, while UTF 8 is used for creating new applications.
References
Last Updated : 15 July, 2023
I’ve put so much effort writing this blog post to provide value to you. It’ll be very helpful for me, if you consider sharing it on social media or with your friends/family. SHARING IS ♥️
Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
