internationalencodingstandard

noun
UK /ˌɪntəˈnæʃənəl ɪnˈkəʊdɪŋ ˈstændəd/
US /ˌɪntərˈnæʃənəl ɪnˈkoʊdɪŋ ˈstændərd/

A set of agreed rules that helps computers all over the world store and share letters and symbols the same way.

Thanks to the international encoding standard, a message typed in Japan shows up correctly on a computer in Brazil.

SYNONYMS

global character standarduniversal encoding ruleworldwide code standardshared text standard

RELATED WORDS

Unicodecharacter setencodinginteroperabilitytext representation

OTHER MEANINGS

2. A technical specification that ensures digital text looks the same across different countries and languages.

Engineers followed the international encoding standard so the app displayed Chinese and Arabic correctly.

3. A common set of codes used to turn characters into numbers that all systems can read.

The file was saved using the international encoding standard to avoid garbled text.

4. An agreement among nations about how to represent written symbols in computers.

The new software complies with the international encoding standard for global users.