Symbol Set
When you print the letter "A," the host computer sends a code corresponding to "A"
(hexadecimal 41 is an example of this) to the machine. This code is referred to as
the character code. The machine stores an internal representation of each
character, and selects from among these character patterns the pattern
corresponding to the received code. In this case, the machine searches for the
pattern for "A," and prints it.
I
The process by which letters are printed
6
Character
Computer
patterns
Machine
The machine uses a fixed rule to decide which letter or symbol corresponds to the
character code sent from the host computer. For example, the letter "A" is printed
for the hexadecimal code "41". The rule which determines the correspondence
between character codes and printed letter is called the "symbol set."
Some Basic Facts About Fonts
6-7