Ever seen café turn into caf�? Or watched your database crash because someone typed an emoji? You're not alone—and after this video, you'll understand character encoding better than most developers. Unicode is NOT an encoding. UTF-8 is NOT 8-bit. And ASCII isn't dead—it's living inside every UTF-8 file you've ever created. You'll understand: → Why "è" takes more space than "e" → The real difference between Unicode, UTF-8, and ASCII → Why 98% of websites chose UTF-8 (and why you should too) → How to never see the � replacement character again This isn't just trivia. This is the invisible foundation of every text interaction in our digital world—and the reason your international users keep breaking things. KEY TAKEAWAYS: - Unicode = The WHAT (character catalog with 140,000+ entries) - UTF-8 = The HOW (smart 1-4 byte storage) - ASCII = The grandfather (first 128 characters, still valid UTF-8) - � = Someone used the wrong decoder MORE VIDEOS - Authentication Series - #programming #webdevelopment #coding #utf8 #unicode #ascii #characterencoding #softwaredevelopment #computerscience #learntocode #developer #tech #webdev #backend #frontend #javascript #python #database #debugging #softwareengineer