AI engineering glossary · Computing foundations
What is UTF-8?
UTF-8: A variable-length encoding of Unicode that uses one to four bytes per character, keeps ASCII characters as single identical bytes, and is the dominant encoding on the web and in modern software. Files and APIs should default to it.
UTF-8: an example
In UTF-8, the letter A takes 1 byte, while the Hindi letter अ takes 3 bytes.
Related terms
More Computing foundations terms
- Virtual machine
- Virtual memory
- Virtual private network
- Von Neumann architecture
- VRAM
- Wide area network
- x86
- Application programming interface
Where you learn it
UTF-8 is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.