ASCII Value of a Character in C++

This program teaches how characters are stored and handled inside the computer. Every character you type—like A, a, 5, #, !, or space—has its own unique number called an ASCII value. This program takes a single character from the user and prints its ASCII number.

1. Characters and ASCII Values

Computers do not store characters directly.
Instead, every character is converted into a number.
These numbers are part of a standard system called ## ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange).

Examples:

'A' → 65
'a' → 97
'0' → 48
'@' → 64

So when you type a character, the computer stores it as a number internally.

2. Header File

#include <iostream>

This header gives access to cout (for printing messages) and cin (for taking user input).

3. Declaring the char Variable

The program declares:

char ch;

char is a data type used to store a single character such as 'A', 'b', '3', or '$'.
It always stores exactly ## 1 byte of memory.

4. Taking Character Input

The program asks the user:

cout << "Enter a character: ";
cin >> ch;

Here's what happens:

cout shows the message.
cin waits for the user to type a character.
The typed character is stored in the variable ch.

If you type A, then ch holds 'A'.
If you type $, then ch holds '$'.

5. Converting char to int (Type Casting)

To print the ASCII number, the program uses:

(int)ch

This is called ## type casting.
It means: "Treat ch as an integer instead of a character."

Normally:

cout << ch; prints the character itself (like A)
cout << (int)ch; prints the ASCII value (like 65)

Type casting changes how the value is shown, not how it is stored.

6. Displaying the ASCII Value

The program prints:

cout << "ASCII value of '" << ch << "' is: " << (int)ch << endl;

If ch = 'A', the output will be:

ASCII value of 'A' is: 65

If ch = 'b', output will be:

ASCII value of 'b' is: 98

7. return 0;

This ends the program and tells the computer everything worked fine.

Summary

Characters in C++ are stored as ASCII numbers.
char stores one character.
Type casting (int) converts a character to its ASCII number.
This program helps beginners understand how character data works internally.

Once you understand ASCII values, you'll be ready for more advanced topics like character functions, strings, and encryption basics.

Output