Editing ASCII art (section)

==Uses==
[[File:ASCII Panzerhaubitze und Sattelzug.png|right|thumb|A self-propelled howitzer and truck made using ASCII art]]
[[File:NVIDIA ASCII logo.webp|thumb|[[Nvidia]] ASCII logo]]
ASCII art is used wherever text can be more readily printed or transmitted than graphics, or in some cases, where the transmission of pictures is not possible. This includes typewriters, [[teleprinter]]s, non-graphic [[computer terminal]]s, [[printer separator]]s, in early [[computer network]]ing (e.g., [[bulletin board system|BBSes]]), [[email]], and [[Usenet]] news messages. ASCII art is also used within the [[source code]] of computer programs for representation of company or product logos, and flow control or other diagrams. In some cases, the entire source code of a program is a piece of ASCII art – for instance, an entry to one of the earlier [[International Obfuscated C Code Contest]] is a program that adds numbers, but visually looks like a binary adder drawn in logic ports.<ref>{{cite web| last= Downs | first= Makarios| title= 16 bit addition the easy/hard way| url= http://www.ioccc.org/1995/heathbar.c}}</ref>

Some [[electronic schematic]] archives represent the circuits using ASCII art.<ref name="Markup_2004"/><ref name="Circuits"/><ref name="Schematics"/><ref name="Cunningham_2010"/><ref name="ASCII-Circuits"/><ref name="Paul_2005_SR-T"/><ref name="Paul_2009_SR-T"/><ref name="Paul_2005_Remote"/><ref name="Paul_2007_PT-04"/><ref name="Paul_2009_4000AF"/><ref name="Paul_2012_PCT-100"/>{{excessive citations inline|date=January 2025}}

Examples of ASCII-style art predating the modern computer era can be found in the June 1939, July 1948 and October 1948 editions of Popular Mechanics.<ref name="popscience">{{cite web| url= http://www.roysac.com/blog/2007/02/keyboard-text-art-from-over-twenty-years-before-ascii/| title= Keyboard Text Art From Over Twenty Years Before ASCII| last= Cumbrowski| first= Carsten| date= 14 February 2007| website= roysac.com| access-date= 5 March 2008}}</ref>

Early computer games played on terminals frequently used ASCII art to simulate graphics, most notably the [[roguelike]] genre using ASCII art to visually represent dungeons and monsters within them.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://killscreen.com/previously/articles/cogmind-proves-roguelike-isnt-done-ascii-art-yet/ | title = Roguelikes Aren't Done With ASCII Art Yet | first = Christian | last = Valentin | date = 17 October 2016 | access-date = 4 January 2020 | work = [[Kill Screen]] }}</ref> "0verkill" is a 2D platform multiplayer shooter game designed entirely in color ASCII art.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hanselman.com/blog/building-0verkill-on-windows-10-subsystem-for-linux-2d-ascii-art-deathmatch-game|title=Building 0verkill on Windows 10 Subsystem for Linux - 2D ASCII art deathmatch game|first=Scott|last=Hanselman|date=2018-01-12|access-date=2023-03-18}}</ref> [[MPlayer]] and [[VLC media player]] can display videos as ASCII art through the [[AAlib]] library. ASCII art is used in the making of DOS-based [[ZZT]] games.

Many game walkthrough guides come as part of a basic .txt file; this file often contains the name of the game in ASCII art. Such as below, word art is created using backslashes and other ASCII values in order to create the illusion of 3D.