eight-bit clean
<software> A term which describes a system that deals correctly with
extended character sets which (unlike ASCII) use all eight bits of a byte. Many
programs and communications systems assume that all characters have codes in the
range 0 to 127. This leaves the top bit of each byte free for use as a parity
bit or some kind of flag bit. These assumptions break down when the program is
used in some non-english-speaking countries with larger alphabets.
If a binary file is transmitted via a communications link which is not eight-bit
clean, it will be corrupted. To combat this you can encode it with uuencode
which uses only ASCII characters. There are some links however which are not
even "seven-bit clean" and cause problems even for uuencoded data.
(1995-01-05)
Nearby terms:
Eiffel source checker « eigenvalue « eigenvector «
eight-bit clean » eight queens problem » eight
queens puzzle » eighty-column mind
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