CodeChart:Main Page

This is the main page for the CodeChart namespace, a namespace for visualizing the control sequences consumed and generated for a terminal.

ASCII serial terminals consume control sequences from the remote data stream to invoke special functions within the terminal. Examples are functions such as clearing the screen or moving the cursor to a specific location on the screen. Terminals can also generate control sequences in response to user input such as pressing a specially labelled key, or in response to a control sequence in the remote data stream.

ANSI standard X3.64, corresponding to ECMA-48, defines a large number of standard control sequences. No single terminal is expected to implement all of the escape sequences defined in ECMA-48. A terminal is allowed to claim compliance with these standards, so long as it documents which of the control sequences it supports. ECMA-48 also incorporates elements of the ECMA-35 standard for designation of an alternate code set.

In practice, most terminals that advertise "ANSI support" implement the same subset of the standard as implemented by the DEC VT100. The VT100 was one of the first terminals to support the standard and was sold in sufficient quantity that many other terminals provided firwmare compatability with it in order to be compatible with software that assumed the presence of the VT100 command set.

If the code chart for a particular terminal has been recorded in this wiki, it will be linked directly from the terminal's infobox in the Firmware section. You can also use the standard search mechanisms to look for specific code charts.