What does ASCII stand for in computing?

ASCII stands for American Standard Code for Information Interchange. It is a character encoding standard used for representing text in computers and other devices that use text. Each character, including letters, numbers, and symbols, is assigned a unique numerical value between 0 and 127. This allows computers to interpret and display text consistently across different platforms and devices.

The importance of ASCII lies in its role as a foundational standard for digital communication, ensuring that text is encoded in a way that can be understood universally among various types of hardware and software. This ensures compatibility and simplifies the exchange of information, which is crucial for programming and data processing.

In the context of the alternative choices, the mention of "Advanced Standard," "Society for Computing Information," and "Automatic Standard" do not reflect the established meaning of ASCII, which is specifically tied to the American Standard Code for Information Interchange. This focus on a standardized approach has been critical in the development of modern computing and data handling.