Step 1: Determine the UTF-8 encoding bit layout
The character has the Unicode code point U+0ABA. In UTF-8, it is encoded using 3 bytes because its codepoint is in the range of
0x0800to0xffff.
Therefore we know that the UTF-8 encoding will be done over 16 bits within the final 24 bits and that it will have the format:1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx
Where thexare the payload bits.UTF-8 Encoding bit layout by codepoint range Codepoint Range Bytes Bit pattern Payload length U+0000 - U+007F 1 0xxxxxxx 7 bits U+0080 - U+07FF 2 110xxxxx 10xxxxxx 11 bits U+0800 - U+FFFF 3 1110xxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 16 bits U+10000 - U+10FFFF 4 11110xxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 10xxxxxx 21 bits Step 2: Obtain the payload bits:
Convert the hexadecimal code point U+0ABA to binary:
00001010 10111010. Those are the payload bits.Step 3: Fill in the bits to match the bit pattern:
Obtain the final bytes by arranging the paylod bits to match the bit layout:
11100000 10101010 10111010
CHARACTER 0ABA·U+0ABA
Character Information
Code Point
U+0ABA
HEX
0ABA
Unicode Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane
Character Representations
Click elements to copy| Encoding | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| UTF8 | E0 AA BA | 11100000 10101010 10111010 |
| UTF16 (big Endian) | 0A BA | 00001010 10111010 |
| UTF16 (little Endian) | BA 0A | 10111010 00001010 |
| UTF32 (big Endian) | 00 00 0A BA | 00000000 00000000 00001010 10111010 |
| UTF32 (little Endian) | BA 0A 00 00 | 10111010 00001010 00000000 00000000 |
HTML Entity
઺
URI Encoded
%E0%AA%BA
Description
The Unicode character U+0ABA represents the "Black Square" symbol (CHARACTER 0ABA). This enigmatic character holds a special place in digital typography due to its unique appearance, which consists of a simple black square. While this may seem like a purely aesthetic choice, the Black Square has been embraced by the programming and technology community as a symbolic representation of "nothingness" or "emptiness." This concept is particularly prevalent in various coding contexts where it signifies an empty character or a placeholder for a non-existent value. Despite its seemingly innocuous appearance, the Black Square has gained cultural significance in recent years due to its use in modern art and digital aesthetics, symbolizing abstract concepts such as minimalism and void. The use of U+0ABA in digital text continues to evolve, demonstrating the versatility of Unicode characters in expressing a wide range of ideas and information.
How to type the symbol on Windows
Hold Alt and type 2746 on the numpad. Or use Character Map.