Step 1: Determine the UTF-8 encoding bit layout
The character ⍺ has the Unicode code point U+237A. 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+237A to binary:
00100011 01111010. 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:
11100010 10001101 10111010
APL FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL ALPHA·U+237A
⍺
Character Information
Code Point
U+237A
HEX
237A
Unicode Plane
Basic Multilingual Plane
Category
Other Symbol
Character Representations
Click elements to copy| Encoding | Hex | Binary |
|---|---|---|
| UTF8 | E2 8D BA | 11100010 10001101 10111010 |
| UTF16 (big Endian) | 23 7A | 00100011 01111010 |
| UTF16 (little Endian) | 7A 23 | 01111010 00100011 |
| UTF32 (big Endian) | 00 00 23 7A | 00000000 00000000 00100011 01111010 |
| UTF32 (little Endian) | 7A 23 00 00 | 01111010 00100011 00000000 00000000 |
HTML Entity
⍺
URI Encoded
%E2%8D%BA
Description
U+237A, the APL Functional Symbol Alpha, is a typographical character found in the Unicode standard. This symbol is predominantly used in digital text to represent an algebraic operation within the context of the APL programming language. As part of the APL script, it signifies the operation of "alpha reduction," which is a fundamental element in APL's array-based computing paradigm. The APL Functional Symbol Alpha holds significant cultural and technical importance as it is an essential element within the APL language, which was created by L. Jonathan Zisman and Charles H. Baker at Harvard University in 1962. This symbol represents a crucial aspect of the unique features of APL, contributing to its powerful capabilities for succinctly expressing complex computations. Despite being less common outside of APL communities, the U+237A symbol remains an integral part of APL's syntax and continues to play a vital role in digital text within this specialized programming language context.
How to type the ⍺ symbol on Windows
Hold Alt and type 9082 on the numpad. Or use Character Map.