The Sharp pocket computer character sets are a number of 8-bit

character set Character encoding is the process of assigning numbers to graphical characters, especially the written characters of human language, allowing them to be stored, transmitted, and transformed using digital computers. The numerical values that ...

s used by various

Sharp Sharp or SHARP may refer to: Acronyms * SHARP (helmet ratings) (Safety Helmet Assessment and Rating Programme), a British motorcycle helmet safety rating scheme * Self Help Addiction Recovery Program, a charitable organisation founded in 199 ...

pocket computer A pocket computer was a 1980s-era user programmable calculator-sized computer that had fewer screen lines, Some had only one line and often fewer characters per line, than the Pocket-sized computers introduced beginning in 1989. Manufacturers in ...

s and

calculator An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics. The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-sized ...

s in the 1980s and mid 1990s.

Character sets

PC-12xx and PC-14xx series

The Sharp PC-14xx series (like the Sharp PC-1403 (1986), PC-1403H or PC-1475) uses an 8-bit

extended ASCII Extended ASCII is a repertoire of character encodings that include (most of) the original 96 ASCII character set, plus up to 128 additional characters. There is no formal definition of "extended ASCII", and even use of the term is sometimes critic ...

character set. With minor exceptions the lower half resembles the 7-bit

ASCII ASCII ( ), abbreviated from American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for electronic communication. ASCII codes represent text in computers, telecommunications equipment, and other devices. Because of ...

character set. The upper half contains a full set of half-width

Katakana is a Japanese syllabary, one component of the Japanese writing system along with hiragana, kanji and in some cases the Latin script (known as rōmaji). The word ''katakana'' means "fragmentary kana", as the katakana characters are derived fr ...

glyphs as well as a number of graphical and mathematical symbols. The Japanese glyphs are not documented and are available only after enabling an undocumented ''Japanese mode''.

PC-150x series

The

Sharp PC-1500 The Sharp PC-1500 was a pocket computer produced by Sharp between 1981 and 1985. A rebadged version was also sold as the TRS-80 Pocket Computer PC-2. The whole computer was designed around the LH5801, an 8-bit CPU similar to the Zilog Z80, but al ...

series uses a 7-bit character set derived from

. Differences show the Unicode code point below the glyph.

PC-160x series

The

Sharp PC-1600 The Sharp PC-1600 was a pocket computer introduced by Sharp in 1986 as a successor to the PC-1500. The PC-1600 provided compatibility with its predecessor through the use of a slave CPU that could run assembly language programs targeting the older ...

supports two character sets. In "MODE 0", the character set resembles

code page 437 Code page 437 (CCSID 437) is the character set of the original IBM PC (personal computer). It is also known as CP437, OEM-US, OEM 437, PC-8, or DOS Latin US. The set includes all printable ASCII characters as well as some accented letters (diacri ...

, whereas in "MODE 1" certain code points are changed to become compatible with the character set of the predecessor, the PC-1500.

PC-E220 series

The

Sharp PC-E220 The Sharp PC-E220 was a 1991 pocket computer from Sharp Corporation featuring 32 KB RAM, 128 KB ROM and a 3.072 MHz CMOS-SC7852 CPU which was Z80A compatible. The display was able to display 4 lines x 24 characters/144 x 32 pixels. ...

uses an 8-bit character set where the lower half resembles

and the upper half contains various Greek letters, super- and subscript digits as well as various mathematical symbols.

PC-E500 series

The

Sharp PC-E500 The Sharp PC-E500S was a 1995 pocket computer by Sharp Corporation and was the successor to the 1989 PC-E500 model, featuring a 2.304 MHz CMOS CPU. Description It was slightly wider, and the keys are slightly larger than the previous m ...

(1989) and PC-E500S (1995) use an 8-bit character set almost identical to the

IBM PC The IBM Personal Computer (model 5150, commonly known as the IBM PC) is the first microcomputer released in the IBM PC model line and the basis for the IBM PC compatible de facto standard. Released on August 12, 1981, it was created by a team ...

. Differences are highlighted.

Notes

References

{{Sharp Corporation Calculator character sets