I was wondering why when trying to convert a hexadecimal like 0x1C on an online hexadecimal to ascii converter I get an empty string. Likewise, when I use simple code it returns a weird symbol. Yet when I try to convert something like 0x34 it works fine. Any ideas?

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2 Answers

0x1C is the "file separator" character: it's a control (i.e. non-printable) character, and so when it's displayed you'll typically get some kind of substitute glyph displayed on your screen. On the other hand, 0x34 is the "4" character, and therefore is perfectly printable as is.

All of the ASCII characters before 0x20 (space) are non-printable control characters and will display the same behaviour as 0x1C.

0x1C is a file separator, so it won't show up as a "normal" symbol. I'd suggest looking at an ASCII table like this one. Not everything is going to come out as an a-zA-Z0-9 symbol.

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