ASCII 16
ASCII 16 is Data Link Escape — the control character DLE.
Every representation
| Character | DLE (not printable) |
| Name | Data Link Escape |
| Decimal | 16 |
| Hexadecimal | 0x10 |
| Octal | 0020 |
| Binary | 00010000 |
| HTML entity |  |
| Escape sequence | \x10 |
| Unicode | U+0010 |
| Keyboard | Ctrl+P |
| Group | Control character |
What it is for
Marked the following characters as protocol control rather than data — an escaping mechanism for binary-unsafe links.
Where the number comes from
Codes 0 to 31 were reserved for control: instructions to a teleprinter rather than characters to print. Code 16 is Ctrl+P because the Ctrl key was originally wired to clear the top two bits of whatever you typed, mapping the letter P at 80 down to 16.
Frequently asked questions
What is ASCII 16?
Data Link Escape (DLE), a control character. In hexadecimal it is 0x10, in octal 0020, and in binary 00010000.
How do I type ASCII 16?
Press Ctrl+P in a terminal. In a string literal you can write it as \\x10 in most languages.
Is ASCII 16 printable?
No. Codes 0 to 31 and 127 are control characters — they were instructions to a teleprinter rather than marks on paper, and most terminals show nothing for them.
Nearby codes
- ASCII 9 — HT
- ASCII 10 — LF
- ASCII 11 — VT
- ASCII 12 — FF
- ASCII 13 — CR
- ASCII 14 — SO
- ASCII 15 — SI
- ASCII 17 — DC1
- ASCII 18 — DC2
- ASCII 19 — DC3
- ASCII 20 — DC4
- ASCII 21 — NAK
- ASCII 22 — SYN
- ASCII 23 — ETB
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