Atari ST character set

The Atari ST character set[1] is the character set of the Atari ST personal computer family including the Atari STE, TT and Falcon. It is based on code page 437, the original character set of the IBM PC, and like that set includes ASCII codes 32–126, extended codes for accented letters (diacritics), and other symbols. It differs from code page 437 in using other dingbats at code points 0–31, in exchanging the box-drawing characters 176–223 for the Hebrew alphabet and other symbols, and exchanging code points 158, 236 and 254–255 with the symbols for sharp S, line integral, cubed and macron.

The Atari ST family of computers contained this font stored in ROM in three sizes; as an 8×16 pixels-per-character font used in the high-resolution graphics modes, as an 8×8 pixels-per-character font used in the low- and medium-resolution graphics modes, and as a 6×6 pixels-per-character font used for icon labels in any graphics mode.[1]

All 256 codes were assigned a graphical character in ROM, including the codes from 0 to 31 that in ASCII were reserved for non-graphical control characters.

Digital Research's Intel-based original GEM for IBM compatible PCs utilized the similar GEM character set, with certain accented Latin uppercase characters instead of Hebrew characters as well as a number of other differences.

Character set

The following table shows the Atari ST character set. Each character is shown with a potential Unicode equivalent if available, and its decimal code point. See also the notes below re equivalent Unicode characters for some code points. Differences from code page 437 are shown boxed.

Although the ROM provides a graphic for all 256 different possible 8-bit codes, some APIs will not print some of these code points, in particular the range 0–31 and the code at 127. Instead they will interpret them as control characters.

Atari ST character set[2][3][4][5][6][7]
_0 _1 _2 _3 _4 _5 _6 _7 _8 _9 _A _B _C _D _E _F
0_ NUL
0000
0[lower-alpha 1]

21E7
1[lower-alpha 2]

21E9
2[lower-alpha 2]

21E8
3[lower-alpha 2]

21E6
4[lower-alpha 2]

274E
5[lower-alpha 2]


6[lower-alpha 2]


7[lower-alpha 2]

2713
8[lower-alpha 2]
🕒
01F552
9
🔔
01F514
10

266A
11

240C
12

240D
13


14[lower-alpha 3]


15[lower-alpha 3]
1_

16[lower-alpha 4]


17[lower-alpha 4]


18[lower-alpha 4]


19[lower-alpha 4]


20[lower-alpha 4]


21[lower-alpha 4]


22[lower-alpha 4]


23[lower-alpha 4]


24[lower-alpha 4]


25[lower-alpha 4]
ə
0259
26

241B
27


28[lower-alpha 5]


29[lower-alpha 5]


30[lower-alpha 5]


31[lower-alpha 5]
2_ SP
0020
32[lower-alpha 1]
!
0021
33
"
0022
34
#
0023
35
$
0024
36
%
0025
37
&
0026
38
'
0027
39
(
0028
40
)
0029
41
*
002A
42
+
002B
43
,
002C
44
-
002D
45
.
002E
46
/
002F
47
3_ 0
0030
48
1
0031
49
2
0032
50
3
0033
51
4
0034
52
5
0035
53
6
0036
54
7
0037
55
8
0038
56
9
0039
57
:
003A
58
;
003B
59
<
003C
60
=
003D
61
>
003E
62
?
003F
63
4_ @
0040
64
A
0041
65
B
0042
66
C
0043
67
D
0044
68
E
0045
69
F
0046
70
G
0047
71
H
0048
72
I
0049
73
J
004A
74
K
004B
75
L
004C
76
M
004D
77
N
004E
78
O
004F
79
5_ P
0050
80
Q
0051
81
R
0052
82
S
0053
83
T
0054
84
U
0055
85
V
0056
86
W
0057
87
X
0058
88
Y
0059
89
Z
005A
90
[
005B
91
\
005C
92
]
005D
93
^
005E
94
_
005F
95
6_ `
0060
96
a
0061
97
b
0062
98
c
0063
99
d
0064
100
e
0065
101
f
0066
102
g
0067
103
h
0068
104
i
0069
105
j
006A
106
k
006B
107
l
006C
108
m
006D
109
n
006E
110
o
006F
111
7_ p
0070
112
q
0071
113
r
0072
114
s
0073
115
t
0074
116
u
0075
117
v
0076
118
w
0077
119
x
0078
120
y
0079
121
z
007A
122
{
007B
123
|
007C
124
}
007D
125
~
007E
126

2302
127
8_ Ç
00C7
128
ü
00FC
129
é
00E9
130
â
00E2
131
ä
00E4
132
à
00E0
133
å
00E5
134
ç
00E7
135
ê
00EA
136
ë
00EB
137
è
00E8
138
ï
00EF
139
î
00EE
140
ì
00EC
141
Ä
00C4
142
Å
00C5
143
9_ É
00C9
144
æ
00E6
145
Æ
00C6
146
ô
00F4
147
ö
00F6
148
ò
00F2
149
û
00FB
150
ù
00F9
151
ÿ
00FF
152
Ö
00D6
153
Ü
00DC
154
¢
00A2
155
£
00A3
156
¥
00A5
157
ß
00DF
158[lower-alpha 6]
ƒ
0192
159
A_ á
00E1
160
í
00ED
161
ó
00F3
162
ú
00FA
163
ñ
00F1
164
Ñ
00D1
165
ª
00AA
166
º
00BA
167
¿
00BF
168

2310
169
¬
00AC
170
½
00BD
171
¼
00BC
172
¡
00A1
173
«
00AB
174
»
00BB
175
B_ ã
00E3
176
õ
00F5
177
Ø
00D8
178
ø
00F8
179
œ
0153
180
Œ
0152
181
À
00C0
182
Ã
00C3
183
Õ
00D5
184
¨
00A8
185
´
00B4
186

2020
187

00B6
188
©
00A9
189
®
00AE
190

2122
191
C_ ij
0133
192[lower-alpha 7]
IJ
0132
193[lower-alpha 7]
א
05D0
194[lower-alpha 7]
ב
05D1
195[lower-alpha 7]
ג
05D2
196[lower-alpha 7]
ד
05D3
197[lower-alpha 7]
ה
05D4
198[lower-alpha 7]
ו
05D5
199[lower-alpha 7]
ז
05D6
200[lower-alpha 7]
ח
05D7
201[lower-alpha 7]
ט
05D8
202[lower-alpha 7]
י
05D9
203[lower-alpha 7]
כ
05DB
204[lower-alpha 7]
ל
05DC
205[lower-alpha 7]
מ
05DE
206[lower-alpha 7]
נ
05E0
207[lower-alpha 7]
D_ ס
05E1
208[lower-alpha 7]
ע
05E2
209[lower-alpha 7]
פ
05E4
210[lower-alpha 7]
צ
05E6
211[lower-alpha 7]
ק
05E7
212[lower-alpha 7]
ר
05E8
213[lower-alpha 7]
ש
05E9
214[lower-alpha 7]
ת
05EA
215[lower-alpha 7]
ן
05DF
216[lower-alpha 7]
ך
05DA
217[lower-alpha 7]
ם
05DD
218[lower-alpha 7]
ף
05E3
219[lower-alpha 7]
ץ
05E5
220[lower-alpha 7]
§
00A7
221[lower-alpha 7]

2227
222[lower-alpha 7]

221E
223[lower-alpha 7]
E_ α
03B1
224
β
03B2
225[lower-alpha 6]
Γ
0393
226
π
03C0
227[lower-alpha 8]
Σ
03A3
228[lower-alpha 9]
σ
03C3
229
µ
00B5
230[lower-alpha 10]
τ
03C4
231
Φ
03A6
232
Θ
0398
233
Ω
03A9
234[lower-alpha 11]
δ
03B4
235[lower-alpha 12]

222E
236[lower-alpha 13]
ϕ
03D5
237[lower-alpha 14]

2208
238[lower-alpha 15]

2229
239
F_
2261
240
±
00B1
241

2265
242

2264
243

2320
244

2321
245
÷
00F7
246

2248
247
°
00B0
248

2022
249
·
00B7
250

221A
251

207F
252
²
00B2
253
³
00B3
254[lower-alpha 16]
¯
00AF
255[lower-alpha 17]
_0_1_2_3_4_5_6_7_8_9_A_B_C_D_E_F

Alt codes

Utilizing the Alt Numpad input method, users can enter a character by holding down the Alt key and entering the three-digit decimal code point on the Numpad. This provides a way to enter special characters not provided directly on the keyboard.[2]

Euro variants

The Atari ST character set long pre-dates the introduction of the Euro currency and thus does not provide a code point for the Euro sign (U+20AC, €). However, some software (such as Calamus) utilized code point 238 (0xEE) for this purpose.[10][11] This code point is normally assigned to the mathematical element-of sign (U+2208, ∈), and to the Greek lowercase epsilon (U+03B5, ε) in code page 437. Alternatively, the rarely used logical conjunction sign (U+2227, ∧) at code point 222 (0xDE) could be replaced by the euro sign.[12]

See also

Notes

Regarding the translation to Unicode it should be noted that some codes do not have a unique, single Unicode equivalent; the correct choice may depend upon context:

  1. 1 2 0 and 32 (20hex) both draw a blank space.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1–8 are used in GEM AES user interface elements such as icons for closing, resizing and maximizing windows.
  3. 1 2 14–15 (0Ehex–0Fhex) are 2 pieces that form an Atari "Fuji" logo, sometimes used together as an alternative to the title "Desk" for the leftmost menu in Atari ST software.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 16–25 (10hex–19hex) are alternate representations of the digits 0–9 in the style of a seven-segment display. There are no direct Unicode equivalents although Unicode does have several other alternative sets of digits.
  5. 1 2 3 4 28–31 (1Chex–1Fhex) are 4 pieces that form the image of J. R. "Bob" Dobbs from the satirical Church of the SubGenius, a rarely used easter egg.
  6. 1 2 158 (9Ehex) is the German sharp S (U+00DF, ß) produced by a German Atari ST keyboard's ß key. 225 (E1hex) is the Greek lowercase beta (U+03B2, β) homoglyph. Note that code page 437 uses 158 for the symbol so 225 serves both functions there, and the Unicode Consortium's suggestion is to map code page 437's code point 225 to sharp S (U+00DF) presumably based on its more frequent use as the sharp S, despite that its surrounding code points are Greek characters.[8]
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 192–223 (C0hex–EFhex) are used for ij, IJ, the Hebrew alphabet, §, and on the Atari ST while they are used for box-drawing characters in code page 437.
  8. 227 (E3hex) is the Greek lowercase pi (U+03C0, π), but early code page 437 fonts such as Terminal use a variant of pi that is ambiguous in case, and therefore can be used for the Greek capital pi (U+03A0, Π) or the n-ary product sign (U+220F, ∏).
  9. 228 (E4hex) is both the n-ary summation sign (U+2211, ∑) and the Greek uppercase sigma (U+03A3, Σ).
  10. 230 (E6hex) is both the micro sign (U+00B5, µ) and the Greek lowercase mu (U+03BC, μ).
  11. 234 (EAhex) is both the ohm sign (U+2126, Ω) and the Greek uppercase omega (U+03A9, Ω). (Unicode considers the ohm sign to be equivalent to uppercase omega, and suggests that the latter be used in both contexts.[9])
  12. 235 (EBhex) is the Greek lowercase delta (U+03B4, δ), but it has also been used as a surrogate for the Icelandic lowercase eth (U+00F0, ð) and the partial derivative sign (U+2202, ∂).
  13. 236 (EChex) is used for the symbol on the Atari ST while code page 437 uses it for the symbol, which in turn the Atari ST places at 223.
  14. 237 (EDhex) is both used as the empty set sign (U+2205, ∅), the Greek lowercase phi, the Greek phi symbol in italics (U+03D5, Φ) to name angles, and the diameter sign (U+2300, ⌀).
  15. 238 (EEhex) is both used as the Greek lowercase epsilon (U+03B5, ε) and the element-of sign (U+2208, ∈). Later it was often used for the euro sign (U+20AC, €).
  16. 254 (FEhex) is used for the ³ symbol on the Atari ST while code page 437 uses it for the symbol.
  17. 255 (FFhex) is used for the ¯ symbol on the Atari ST while code page 437 uses it for the non-breaking space.

References

  1. 1 2 Feagans, John (May 1986). "How do Europeans access special characters in the Atari ST character set? What is the 6x6 font used for?" (PDF). Atari ST Developers Question and Answer Bulletin. Sunnyvale, CA, USA: Atari Corp. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
  2. 1 2 "Atari Wiki - The Atari character set". Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  3. Bettencourt, Rebecca G. (2016-08-01) [1999]. "Character Encodings - Legacy Encodings - Atari ST". Kreative Korporation. Retrieved 2016-08-09.
  4. Kostis, Kosta; Lehmann, Alexander. "Atari ST/TT Character Encoding". 1.56. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  5. "Codepages / Ascii Table Atari ST/TT Character Encoding". ASCII.ca. 2016 [2006]. Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  6. Verdy, Philippe; Haible, Bruno; Zibis, Ulf; Rinquin, Yves-Marie K. (2015-10-08) [1998]. "AtariST to Unicode". 1.3. Retrieved 2016-12-09.
  7. Flohr, Guido (2016) [2006]. "Locale::RecodeData::ATARI_ST - Conversion routines for ATARI-ST". CPAN libintl-perl. 1.1. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
  8. "cp437_DOSLatinUS to Unicode table" (TXT). The Unicode Consortium. Retrieved 2011-11-14.
  9. The Unicode Consortium, The Unicode Standard 4.0, Chapter 7, "European Alphabetic Scripts", p176. PDF version
  10. Dunkel, Ulf (July 1999). "Calamus (2)". ST Computer (in German). Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  11. Hädrich, Johannes (2002-12-14). "Calamus: RTF 3.0 mit grossem Qualitaetssprung" (in German). Archived from the original on 2017-01-16. Retrieved 2017-01-16.
  12. Flohr, Guido (2016) [2006]. "Locale::RecodeData::ATARI_ST_EURO - Conversion routines for ATARI-ST-EURO". CPAN libintl-perl. 1.1. Archived from the original on 2017-01-14. Retrieved 2017-01-14.
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