RFC - 2044
UTF-8, a transformation format of Unicode and ISO 10646
| Obsoleted by: |
| RFC-2279 |
UTF-8, a transformation format of ISO 10646 (Obsoleted by RFC-3629std63)
|
| Referred by: |
31 RFC |
| Refers to: |
3 RFC |
Status
This memo provides information for the Internet community. This memo
does not specify an Internet standard of any kind. Distribution of
this memo is unlimited.
Abstract
The Unicode Standard, version 1.1, and ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993 jointly
define a 16 bit character set which encompasses most of the world's
writing systems. 16-bit characters, however, are not compatible with
many current applications and protocols, and this has led to the
development of a few so-called UCS transformation formats (UTF), each
with different characteristics. UTF-8, the object of this memo, has
the characteristic of preserving the full US-ASCII range: US-ASCII
characters are encoded in one octet having the usual US-ASCII value,
and any octet with such a value can only be an US-ASCII character.
This provides compatibility with file systems, parsers and other
software that rely on US-ASCII values but are transparent to other
values.