Recommendation ITU-T X.

690
International Standard 8825-1

Information technology –
ASN.1 encoding rules:
Specification of Basic Encoding Rules (BER),
Canonical Encoding Rules (CER) and
Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER)
INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 8825-1
RECOMMENDATION ITU-T X.690
Information technology – ASN.1 encoding rules:
Specification of Basic Encoding Rules (BER),
Canonical Encoding Rules (CER)
and Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER)

Summary
Recommendation ITU-T X.690 | ISO/IEC 8825-1 defines a set of Basic Encoding Rules (BER) that may be applied to
values of types defined using the ASN.1 notation. Application of these encoding rules produces a transfer syntax for
such values. It is implicit in the specification of these encoding rules that they are also used for decoding. This
Recommendation | International Standard defines also a set of Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER) and a set of
Canonical Encoding Rules (CER) both of which provide constraints on the Basic Encoding Rules (BER). The key
difference between them is that DER uses the definite length form of encoding while CER uses the indefinite length
form. DER is more suitable for the small encoded values, while CER is more suitable for the large ones. It is implicit in
the specification of these encoding rules that they are also used for decoding.

Source
Recommendation ITU-T X.690 was prepared by ITU-T Study Group 17 (2017-2020) and approved on 13 February
2021. An identical text is also published as ISO/IEC 8825-1.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) i

ii Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)
 CONTENTS
Page
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................................v
1 Scope ............................................................................................................................................................. 1
2 Normative references .....................................................................................................................................1
2.1 Identical Recommendations | International Standards ....................................................................... 1
2.2 Additional references ......................................................................................................................... 1
3 Definitions ..................................................................................................................................................... 2
4 Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................................ 2
5 Notation ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
6 Convention .................................................................................................................................................... 2
7 Conformance ................................................................................................................................................. 3
8 Basic encoding rules ......................................................................................................................................3
8.1 General rules for encoding ................................................................................................................. 3
8.1.1 Structure of an encoding .................................................................................................. 3
8.1.2 Identifier octets ................................................................................................................ 4
8.1.3 Length octets .................................................................................................................... 5
8.1.4 Contents octets ................................................................................................................. 6
8.1.5 End-of-contents octets ......................................................................................................6
8.2 Encoding of a boolean value .............................................................................................................. 6
8.3 Encoding of an integer value ..............................................................................................................6
8.4 Encoding of an enumerated value ...................................................................................................... 7
8.5 Encoding of a real value .....................................................................................................................7
8.6 Encoding of a bitstring value ............................................................................................................. 8
8.7 Encoding of an octetstring value ........................................................................................................9
8.8 Encoding of a null value .................................................................................................................. 10
8.9 Encoding of a sequence value .......................................................................................................... 10
8.10 Encoding of a sequence-of value ..................................................................................................... 10
8.11 Encoding of a set value .................................................................................................................... 10
8.12 Encoding of a set-of value ................................................................................................................11
8.13 Encoding of a choice value .............................................................................................................. 11
8.14 Encoding of a value of a prefixed type ............................................................................................ 11
8.15 Encoding of an open type .................................................................................................................12
8.16 Encoding of an instance-of value .....................................................................................................12
8.17 Encoding of a value of the embedded-pdv type ...............................................................................12
8.18 Encoding of a value of the external type ..........................................................................................12
8.19 Encoding of an object identifier value ............................................................................................. 13
8.20 Encoding of a relative object identifier value .................................................................................. 14
8.21 Encoding of an OID internationalized resource identifier value ..................................................... 14
8.22 Encoding of a relative OID internationalized resource identifier value .......................................... 15
8.23 Encoding for values of the restricted character string types ............................................................ 15
8.24 Encoding for values of the unrestricted character string type ..........................................................17
8.25 Encoding for values of the Useful Types .........................................................................................17
8.26 Encoding for values of the TIME type and the useful time types .................................................... 17
8.26.1 Encoding for values of the TIME type ...........................................................................17
8.26.2 Encoding for values of the DATE type ...........................................................................17
8.26.3 Encoding for values of the TIME-OF-DAY type ............................................................ 17
8.26.4 Encoding for values of the DATE-TIME type ................................................................ 17
8.26.5 Encoding for values of the DURATION type ................................................................. 17
9 Canonical encoding rules ............................................................................................................................ 17
9.1 Length forms .................................................................................................................................... 18
9.2 String encoding forms ...................................................................................................................... 18
9.3 Set components ................................................................................................................................ 18

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) iii

10 Distinguished encoding rules ...................................................................................................................... 18
10.1 Length forms .................................................................................................................................... 18
10.2 String encoding forms ...................................................................................................................... 18
10.3 Set components ................................................................................................................................ 19
11 Restrictions on BER employed by both CER and DER ..............................................................................19
11.1 Boolean values ................................................................................................................................. 19
11.2 Unused bits .......................................................................................................................................19
11.3 Real values ....................................................................................................................................... 19
11.4 GeneralString values ........................................................................................................................ 19
11.5 Set and sequence components with default value ............................................................................ 20
11.6 Set- of components ........................................................................................................................... 20
11.7 GeneralizedTime .............................................................................................................................. 20
11.8 UTCTime ......................................................................................................................................... 20
11.8.4 Examples of valid representations ................................................................................. 20
11.8.5 Examples of invalid representations .............................................................................. 21
11.9 The TIME type and the useful time types ........................................................................................ 21
12 Use of BER, CER and DER in transfer syntax definition ........................................................................... 21
Annex A Example of encodings ............................................................................................................................ 23
A.1 ASN.1 description of the record structure ........................................................................................23
A.2 ASN.1 description of a record value ................................................................................................ 23
A.3 Representation of this record value ..................................................................................................23
Annex B Identification of Encoding Rules ............................................................................................................25
Annex C Illustration of real value encoding .......................................................................................................... 26

iv Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

Introduction
Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, Rec. ITU-T X.681 | ISO/IEC 8824-2, Rec. ITU-T X.682 | ISO/IEC 8824-3, Rec.
ITU-T X.683 | ISO/IEC 8824-4 (Abstract Syntax Notation One or ASN.1) together specify a notation for the definition
of abstract syntaxes, enabling application standards to define the types of information they need to transfer. It also
specifies a notation for the specification of values of a defined type.
This Recommendation | International Standard defines encoding rules that may be applied to values of types defined
using the ASN.1 notation. Application of these encoding rules produces a transfer syntax for such values. It is implicit
in the specification of these encoding rules that they are also to be used for decoding.
There may be more than one set of encoding rules that can be applied to values of types that are defined using the
ASN.1 notation. This Recommendation | International Standard defines three sets of encoding rules, called basic
encoding rules, canonical encoding rules and distinguished encoding rules. Whereas the basic encoding rules give the
sender of an encoding various choices as to how data values may be encoded, the canonical and distinguished encoding
rules select just one encoding from those allowed by the basic encoding rules, eliminating all of the sender's options.
The canonical and distinguished encoding rules differ from each other in the set of restrictions that they place on the
basic encoding rules.
The distinguished encoding rules is more suitable than the canonical encoding rules if the encoded value is small
enough to fit into the available memory and there is a need to rapidly skip over some nested values. The canonical
encoding rules is more suitable than the distinguished encoding rules if there is a need to encode values that are so large
that they cannot readily fit into the available memory or it is necessary to encode and transmit a part of a value before
the entire value is available. The basic encoding rules is more suitable than the canonical or distinguished encoding
rules if the encoding contains a set value or set-of value and there is no need for the restrictions that the canonical and
distinguished encoding rules impose. This is due to the memory and CPU overhead that the latter encoding rules exact
in order to guarantee that set values and set-of values have just one possible encoding.
Annex A gives an example of the application of the basic encoding rules. It does not form an integral part of this
Recommendation | International Standard.
Annex B summarizes the assignment of object identifier and OID internationalized resource identifier values made in
this Recommendation | International Standard. It does not form an integral part of this Recommendation | International
Standard.
Annex C gives examples of applying the basic encoding rules for encoding reals. It does not form an integral part of this
Recommendation | International Standard.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) v

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD
ITU-T RECOMMENDATION

Information technology – ASN.1 encoding rules:

Specification of Basic Encoding Rules (BER),
Canonical Encoding Rules (CER)
and Distinguished Encoding Rules (DER)

1 Scope
This Recommendation | International Standard specifies a set of basic encoding rules that may be used to derive the
specification of a transfer syntax for values of types defined using the notation specified in Rec. ITU-T X.680 |
ISO/IEC 8824-1, Rec. ITU-T X.681 | ISO/IEC 8824-2, Rec. ITU-T X.682 | ISO/IEC 8824-3, and Rec. ITU-T X.683 |
ISO/IEC 8824-4, collectively referred to as Abstract Syntax Notation One or ASN.1. These basic encoding rules are
also to be applied for decoding such a transfer syntax in order to identify the data values being transferred. It also
specifies a set of canonical and distinguished encoding rules that restrict the encoding of values to just one of the
alternatives provided by the basic encoding rules.

2 Normative references
The following Recommendations and International Standards contain provisions which, through reference in this text,
constitute provisions of this Recommendation | International Standard. At the time of publication, the editions indicated
were valid. All Recommendations and Standards are subject to revision, and parties to agreements based on this
Recommendation | International Standard are encouraged to investigate the possibility of applying the most recent
edition of the Recommendations and Standards listed below. Members of IEC and ISO maintain registers of currently
valid International Standards. The Telecommunication Standardization Bureau of the ITU maintains a list of currently
valid ITU-T Recommendations.
NOTE – This Recommendation | International Standard is based on ISO/IEC 10646:2003. It cannot be applied using later
versions of this standard.

2.1 Identical Recommendations | International Standards

– Recommendation ITU-T X.200 (1994) | ISO/IEC 7498-1: 1994, Information technology – Open Systems
Interconnection – Basic Reference Model: The basic model.
– Recommendation ITU-T X.680 (2021) | ISO/IEC 8824-1:2021, Information technology – Abstract
Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Specification of basic notation.
– Recommendation ITU-T X.681 (2021) | ISO/IEC 8824-2:2021, Information technology – Abstract
Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Information object specification.
– Recommendation ITU-T X.682 (2021) | ISO/IEC 8824-3:2021, Information technology – Abstract
Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Constraint specification.
– Recommendation ITU-T X.683 (2021) | ISO/IEC 8824-4:2021, Information technology – Abstract
Syntax Notation One (ASN.1): Parameterization of ASN.1 specifications.
NOTE – The references above shall be interpreted as references to the identified Recommendations | International Standards
together with all their published amendments and technical corrigenda.

2.2 Additional references

– ISO International Register of Coded Character Sets to be used with Escape Sequences.
– ISO/IEC 2022:1994, Information technology – Character code structure and extension techniques.
– ISO/IEC 2375:2003, Information technology – Procedure for registration of escape sequences and
coded character sets.
– ISO 6093:1985, Information processing – Representation of numerical values in character strings for
information interchange.
– ISO/IEC 6429:1992, Information technology – Control functions for coded character sets.
– ISO/IEC 10646:2003, Information technology – Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS).

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ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

3 Definitions
For the purposes of this Recommendation | International Standard, the definitions of Rec. ITU-T X.200 | ISO/IEC
7498- 1 and Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 and the following definitions apply.
3.1 canonical encoding: A complete encoding of an abstract value obtained by the application of encoding rules
that have no implementation-dependent options. Such rules result in the definition of a 1- 1 mapping between
unambiguous and unique encodings and values in the abstract syntax.
3.2 constructed encoding: A data value encoding in which the contents octets are the complete encoding of one
or more data values.
3.3 contents octets: That part of a data value encoding which represents a particular value, to distinguish it from
other values of the same type.
3.4 data value: Information specified as the value of a type; the type and the value are defined using ASN.1.
3.5 dynamic conformance: A statement of the requirement for an implementation to adhere to the prescribed
behaviour in an instance of communication.
3.6 encoding (of a data value): The complete sequence of octets used to represent the data value.
3.7 end-of-contents octets: Part of a data value encoding, occurring at its end, which is used to determine the end
of the encoding.
NOTE – Not all encodings require end-of-contents octets.

3.8 identifier octets: Part of a data value encoding which is used to identify the type of the value.
NOTE – Some ITU-T Recommendations use the term "data element" for this sequence of octets, but the term is not used in this
Recommendation | International Standard, as other Recommendations | International Standards use it to mean "data value".

3.9 length octets: Part of a data value encoding following the identifier octets which is used to determine the end
of the encoding.
3.10 primitive encoding: A data value encoding in which the contents octets directly represent the value.
3.11 receiver: An implementation decoding the octets produced by a sender, in order to identify the data value
which was encoded.
3.12 sender: An implementation encoding a data value for transfer.
3.13 static conformance: A statement of the requirement for support by an implementation of a valid set of
features from among the defined features.
3.14 trailing 0 bit: A 0 in the last position of a bitstring value.
NOTE – The 0 in a bitstring value consisting of a single 0 bit is a trailing 0 bit. Its removal produces an empty bitstring.

4 Abbreviations
For the purposes of this Recommendation | International Standard, the following abbreviations apply:
ASN.1 Abstract Syntax Notation One
BER Basic Encoding Rules of ASN.1
CER Canonical Encoding Rules of ASN.1
DER Distinguished Encoding Rules of ASN.1
ULA Upper Layer Architecture
UTF8 Universal Transformation Function 8-bit (see ISO/IEC 10646, Annex D)

5 Notation
This Recommendation | International Standard references the notation defined by Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.

6 Convention
6.1 This Recommendation | International Standard specifies the value of each octet in an encoding by use of the
terms "most significant bit" and "least significant bit".

2 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

NOTE – Lower layer specifications use the same notation to define the order of bit transmission on a serial line, or the
assignment of bits to parallel channels.

6.2 For the purposes of this Recommendation | International Standard only, the bits of an octet are numbered from
8 to 1, where bit 8 is the "most significant bit", and bit 1 is the "least significant bit".
6.3 For the purpose of this Recommendation | International Standard, two octet strings can be compared. One
octet string is equal to another if they are of the same length and are the same at each octet position. An octet string, S1,
is greater than another, S2, if and only if either:
a) S1 and S2 have identical octets in every position up to and including the final octet in S2, but S1 is longer;
or
b) S1 and S2 have different octets in one or more positions, and in the first such position, the octet in S1 is
greater than that in S2, considering the octets as unsigned binary numbers whose bit n has weight 2n–1.

7 Conformance
7.1 Dynamic conformance is specified by clauses 8 to 12 inclusive.
7.2 Static conformance is specified by those standards which specify the application of one or more of these
encoding rules.
7.3 Alternative encodings are permitted by the basic encoding rules as a sender's option. Receivers who claim
conformance to the basic encoding rules shall support all alternatives.
NOTE – Examples of such alternative encodings appear in 8.1.3.2 b) and Table 3.
7.4 No alternative encodings are permitted by the Canonical Encoding Rules or Distinguished Encoding Rules.

8 Basic encoding rules

8.1 General rules for encoding

8.1.1 Structure of an encoding
8.1.1.1 The encoding of a data value shall consist of four components which shall appear in the following order:
a) identifier octets (see 8.1.2);
b) length octets (see 8.1.3);
c) contents octets (see 8.1.4);
d) end-of-contents octets (see 8.1.5).
8.1.1.2 The end-of-contents octets shall not be present unless the value of the length octets requires them to be
present (see 8.1.3).
8.1.1.3 Figure 1 illustrates the structure of an encoding (primitive or constructed). Figure 2 illustrates an alternative
constructed encoding.

Identifier octets Length octets Contents octets

The number of octets

in the contents octets
(see 8.1.3.2) X.690_F1

Figure 1 – Structure of an encoding

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 3

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Identifier octets Length octets Contents octets End-of-contents octets

Indicates that the contents Indicates that there are

octets are terminated by no further encodings
end of contents octets in the contents octets
(see 8.1.3.6) X.690_F2

Figure 2 – An alternative constructed encoding

8.1.1.4 Encodings specified in this Recommendation | International Standard are not affected by either the ASN.1
subtype notation or the ASN.1 type extensibility notation.
NOTE – This means that all constraint notation is ignored when determining encodings, and all extensibility markers in CHOICE,
SEQUENCE and SET are ignored, with the extensions treated as if they were in the extension root of the type.

8.1.1.5 There are no encoding instructions (see Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 3.8.27) defined for the encoding
rules specified in this Recommendation | International Standard.

8.1.2 Identifier octets

8.1.2.1 The identifier octets shall encode the ASN.1 tag (class and number) of the type of the data value.
8.1.2.2 For tags with a number ranging from zero to 30 (inclusive), the identifier octets shall comprise a single octet
encoded as follows:
a) bits 8 and 7 shall be encoded to represent the class of the tag as specified in Table 1;
b) bit 6 shall be a zero or a one according to the rules of 8.1.2.5;
c) bits 5 to 1 shall encode the number of the tag as a binary integer with bit 5 as the most significant bit.

Table 1 – Encoding of class of tag

Class Bit 8 Bit 7

Universal 0 0
Application 0 1
Context-specific 1 0
Private 1 1

8.1.2.3 Figure 3 illustrates the form of an identifier octet for a type with a tag whose number is in the range zero
to 30 (inclusive).
Identifier octet

Bits 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Class P/C Tag number

0 = Primitive
1 = Constructed X.690_F3

Figure 3 – Identifier octet (low tag number)

8.1.2.4 For tags with a number greater than or equal to 31, the identifier shall comprise a leading octet followed by
one or more subsequent octets.
8.1.2.4.1 The leading octet shall be encoded as follows:
a) bits 8 and 7 shall be encoded to represent the class of the tag as listed in Table 1;
b) bit 6 shall be a zero or a one according to the rules of 8.1.2.5;
c) bits 5 to 1 shall be encoded as 111112.
8.1.2.4.2 The subsequent octets shall encode the number of the tag as follows:
a) bit 8 of each octet shall be set to one unless it is the last octet of the identifier octets;

4 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

b) bits 7 to 1 of the first subsequent octet, followed by bits 7 to 1 of the second subsequent octet, followed
in turn by bits 7 to 1 of each further octet, up to and including the last subsequent octet in the identifier
octets shall be the encoding of an unsigned binary integer equal to the tag number, with bit 7 of the first
subsequent octet as the most significant bit;
c) bits 7 to 1 of the first subsequent octet shall not all be zero.
8.1.2.4.3 Figure 4 illustrates the form of the identifier octets for a type with a tag whose number is greater than 30.
Subsequent octets
Leading octet 2nd octet Last octet

Class P/C 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0

+ + + +

= Number of tag X.690_F4

Figure 4 – Identifier octets (high tag number)

8.1.2.5 Bit 6 shall be set to zero if the encoding is primitive, and shall be set to one if the encoding is constructed.
NOTE – Subsequent subclauses specify whether the encoding is primitive or constructed for each type.

8.1.2.6 Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 specifies that the tag of a type defined using the CHOICE keyword takes
the value of the tag of the type from which the chosen data value is taken.
8.1.2.7 Rec. ITU-T X.681 | ISO/IEC 8824-2, 14.2 and 14.4, specifies that the tag of a type defined using
"ObjectClassFieldType" is indeterminate if it is a type field, a variable-type value field, or a variable-type value set field.
This type is subsequently defined to be an ASN.1 type, and the complete encoding is then identical to that of a value of
the assigned type (including the identifier octets).

8.1.3 Length octets

8.1.3.1 Two forms of length octets are specified. These are:
a) the definite form (see 8.1.3.3); and
b) the indefinite form (see 8.1.3.6).
8.1.3.2 A sender shall:
a) use the definite form (see 8.1.3.3) if the encoding is primitive;
b) use either the definite form (see 8.1.3.3) or the indefinite form (see 8.1.3.6), a sender's option, if the
encoding is constructed and all immediately available;
c) use the indefinite form (see 8.1.3.6) if the encoding is constructed and is not all immediately available.
8.1.3.3 For the definite form, the length octets shall consist of one or more octets, and shall represent the number of
octets in the contents octets using either the short form (see 8.1.3.4) or the long form (see 8.1.3.5) as a sender's option.
NOTE – The short form can only be used if the number of octets in the contents octets is less than or equal to 127.

8.1.3.4 In the short form, the length octets shall consist of a single octet in which bit 8 is zero and bits 7 to 1 encode
the number of octets in the contents octets (which may be zero), as an unsigned binary integer with bit 7 as the most
significant bit.

EXAMPLE
L = 38 can be encoded as 001001102
8.1.3.5 In the long form, the length octets shall consist of an initial octet and one or more subsequent octets. The
initial octet shall be encoded as follows:
a) bit 8 shall be one;
b) bits 7 to 1 shall encode the number of subsequent octets in the length octets, as an unsigned binary
integer with bit 7 as the most significant bit;
c) the value 111111112 shall not be used.
NOTE 1 – This restriction is introduced for possible future extension.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 5

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Bits 8 to 1 of the first subsequent octet, followed by bits 8 to 1 of the second subsequent octet, followed in turn by bits 8
to 1 of each further octet up to and including the last subsequent octet, shall be the encoding of an unsigned binary
integer equal to the number of octets in the contents octets, with bit 8 of the first subsequent octet as the most
significant bit.

EXAMPLE
L = 201 can be encoded as:
100000012
110010012
NOTE 2 – In the long form, it is a sender's option whether to use more length octets than the minimum necessary.

8.1.3.6 For the indefinite form, the length octets indicate that the contents octets are terminated by end-of-contents
octets (see 8.1.5), and shall consist of a single octet.
8.1.3.6.1 The single octet shall have bit 8 set to one, and bits 7 to 1 set to zero.
8.1.3.6.2 If this form of length is used, then end-of-contents octets (see 8.1.5) shall be present in the encoding following
the contents octets.

8.1.4 Contents octets

The contents octets shall consist of zero, one or more octets, and shall encode the data value as specified in subsequent
clauses.
NOTE – The contents octets depend on the type of the data value; subsequent clauses follow the same sequence as the definition
of types in ASN.1.

8.1.5 End-of-contents octets

The end-of-contents octets shall be present if the length is encoded as specified in 8.1.3.6, otherwise they shall not be
present.
The end-of-contents octets shall consist of two zero octets.
NOTE – The end-of-contents octets can be considered as the encoding of a value whose tag is universal class, whose form is
primitive, whose number of the tag is zero, and whose contents are absent, thus:

End-of-contents Length Contents

0016 0016 Absent

8.2 Encoding of a boolean value

8.2.1 The encoding of a boolean value shall be primitive. The contents octets shall consist of a single octet.
8.2.2 If the boolean value is:
FALSE

the octet shall be zero.

If the boolean value is
TRUE

the octet shall have any non-zero value, as a sender's option.

EXAMPLE
If of type BOOLEAN,
BOOLEAN the value TRUE can be encoded as:
Boolean Length Contents

0116 0116 FF16

8.3 Encoding of an integer value

8.3.1 The encoding of an integer value shall be primitive. The contents octets shall consist of one or more octets.
8.3.2 If the contents octets of an integer value encoding consist of more than one octet, then the bits of the first octet
and bit 8 of the second octet:
a) shall not all be ones; and

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 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

b) shall not all be zero.

NOTE – These rules ensure that an integer value is always encoded in the smallest possible number of octets.

8.3.3 The contents octets shall be a two's complement binary number equal to the integer value, and consisting of
bits 8 to 1 of the first octet, followed by bits 8 to 1 of the second octet, followed by bits 8 to 1 of each octet in turn up to
and including the last octet of the contents octets.
NOTE – The value of a two's complement binary number is derived by numbering the bits in the contents octets, starting with bit
1 of the last octet as bit zero and ending the numbering with bit 8 of the first octet. Each bit is assigned a numerical value of 2N,
where N is its position in the above numbering sequence. The value of the two's complement binary number is obtained by
summing the numerical values assigned to each bit for those bits which are set to one, excluding bit 8 of the first octet, and then
reducing this value by the numerical value assigned to bit 8 of the first octet if that bit is set to one.

8.4 Encoding of an enumerated value

The encoding of an enumerated value shall be that of the integer value with which it is associated.
NOTE – It is primitive.

8.5 Encoding of a real value

8.5.1 The encoding of a real value shall be primitive.
8.5.2 If the real value is the value plus zero, there shall be no contents octets in the encoding.
8.5.3 If the real value is the value minus zero, then it shall be encoded as specified in 8.5.9.
8.5.4 For a non-zero real value, if the base of the abstract value is 10, then the base of the encoded value shall be 10,
and if the base of the abstract value is 2 the base of the encoded value shall be 2, 8 or 16 as a sender's option.
8.5.5 If the real value is non-zero, then the base used for the encoding shall be B' as specified in 8.5.4. If B' is 2, 8
or 16, a binary encoding, specified in 8.5.7, shall be used. If B' is 10, a character encoding, specified in 8.5.8, shall be
used.
8.5.6 Bit 8 of the first contents octet shall be set as follows:
a) if bit 8 = 1, then the binary encoding specified in 8.5.7 applies;
b) if bit 8 = 0 and bit 7 = 0, then the decimal encoding specified in 8.5.8 applies;
c) if bit 8 = 0 and bit 7 = 1, then either a "SpecialRealValue" (see Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824- 1) or
the value minus zero is encoded as specified in 8.5.9.
8.5.7 When binary encoding is used (bit 8 = 1), then if the mantissa M is non-zero, it shall be represented by a
sign S, a positive integer value N and a binary scaling factor F, such that:
M = S  N  2F
0F<4
S = +1 or –1
NOTE – The binary scaling factor F is required under certain circumstances in order to align the implied point of the mantissa to
the position required by the encoding rules of this subclause. This alignment cannot always be achieved by modification of the
exponent E. If the base B' used for encoding is 8 or 16, the implied point can only be moved in steps of 3 or 4 bits, respectively,
by changing the component E. Therefore, values of the binary scaling factor F other than zero may be required in order to move
the implied point to the required position.

8.5.7.1 Bit 7 of the first contents octets shall be 1 if S is –1 and 0 otherwise.

8.5.7.2 Bits 6 to 5 of the first contents octets shall encode the value of the base B' as follows:
Bits 6 to 5 Base
00 base 2
01 base 8
10 base 16
11 Reserved for further editions of this Recommendation | International Standard.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 7

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.5.7.3 Bits 4 to 3 of the first contents octet shall encode the value of the binary scaling factor F as an unsigned binary
integer.
8.5.7.4 Bits 2 to 1 of the first contents octet shall encode the format of the exponent as follows:
a) if bits 2 to 1 are 00, then the second contents octet encodes the value of the exponent as a two's
complement binary number;
b) if bits 2 to 1 are 01, then the second and third contents octets encode the value of the exponent as a two's
complement binary number;
c) if bits 2 to 1 are 10, then the second, third and fourth contents octets encode the value of the exponent as
a two's complement binary number;
d) if bits 2 to 1 are 11, then the second contents octet encodes the number of octets, X say, (as an unsigned
binary number) used to encode the value of the exponent, and the third up to the (X plus 3)th (inclusive)
contents octets encode the value of the exponent as a two's complement binary number; the value of X
shall be at least one; the first nine bits of the transmitted exponent shall not be all zeros or all ones.
8.5.7.5 The remaining contents octets encode the value of the integer N (see 8.5.7) as an unsigned binary number.
NOTE 1 – For non-canonical BER there is no requirement for floating point normalization of the mantissa. This allows an
implementer to transmit octets containing the mantissa without performing shift functions on the mantissa in memory. In the
Canonical Encoding Rules and the Distinguished Encoding Rules normalization is specified and the mantissa (unless it is 0)
needs to be repeatedly shifted until the least significant bit is a 1.
NOTE 2 – This representation of real numbers is very different from the formats normally used in floating point hardware, but
has been designed to be easily converted to and from such formats (see Annex C).

8.5.8 When decimal encoding is used (bits 8 to 7 = 00), all the contents octets following the first contents octet
form a field, as the term is used in ISO 6093, of a length chosen by the sender, and encoded according to ISO 6093. The
choice of ISO 6093 number representation is specified by bits 6 to 1 of the first contents octet as follows:
Bits 6 to 1 Number representation
00 0001 ISO 6093 NR1 form
00 0010 ISO 6093 NR2 form
00 0011 ISO 6093 NR3 form
The remaining values of bits 6 to 1 are reserved for further editions of this Recommendation | International Standard.
There shall be no use of scaling factors specified in accompanying documentation (see ISO 6093).
NOTE 1 – The recommendations in ISO 6093 concerning the use of at least one digit to the left of the decimal mark are also
recommended in this Recommendation | International Standard, but are not mandatory.
NOTE 2 – Use of the normalized form (see ISO 6093) is a sender's option, and has no significance.

8.5.9 When "SpecialRealValues" or minus zero are to be encoded (bits 8 to 7 = 01), there shall be only one contents
octet, with values as follows:
01000000 Value is PLUS-INFINITY
01000001 Value is MINUS-INFINITY
01000010 Value is NOT-A-NUMBER
01000011 Value is minus zero
All other values having bits 8 and 7 equal to 0 and 1 respectively are reserved for addenda to this Recommendation |
International Standard.

8.6 Encoding of a bitstring value

8.6.1 The encoding of a bitstring value shall be either primitive or constructed at the option of the sender.
NOTE – Where it is necessary to transfer part of a bit string before the entire bitstring is available, the constructed encoding is
used.

8.6.2 The contents octets for the primitive encoding shall contain an initial octet followed by zero, one or more
subsequent octets.
8.6.2.1 The bits in the bitstring value, commencing with the leading bit and proceeding to the trailing bit, shall be
placed in bits 8 to 1 of the first subsequent octet, followed by bits 8 to 1 of the second subsequent octet, followed by bits
8 to 1 of each octet in turn, followed by as many bits as are needed of the final subsequent octet, commencing with bit 8.
NOTE – The terms "leading bit" and "trailing bit" are defined in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 22.2.

8 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.6.2.2 The initial octet shall encode, as an unsigned binary integer with bit 1 as the least significant bit, the number
of unused bits in the final subsequent octet. The number shall be in the range zero to seven.
8.6.2.3 If the bitstring is empty, there shall be no subsequent octets, and the initial octet shall be zero.
8.6.2.4 Where Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 22.7, applies a BER encoder/decoder can add or remove trailing
0 bits from the value.
NOTE – If a bitstring value has no 1 bits, then an encoder (as a sender's option) may encode the value with a length of 1 and with
an initial octet set to 0 or may encode it as a bit string with one or more 0 bits following the initial octet.

8.6.3 The contents octets for the constructed encoding shall consist of zero, one, or more nested encodings.
NOTE – Each such encoding includes identifier, length, and contents octets, and may include end-of-contents octets if it is
constructed.

8.6.4 To encode a bitstring value in this way, it is segmented. Each segment shall consist of a series of consecutive
bits of the value, and with the possible exception of the last, shall contain a number of bits which is a multiple of eight.
Each bit in the overall value shall be in precisely one segment, but there shall be no significance placed on the segment
boundaries.
NOTE – A segment may be of size zero, i.e. contain no bits.

8.6.4.1 Each encoding in the contents octets shall represent a segment of the overall bitstring, the encoding arising
from a recursive application of this subclause. In this recursive application, each segment is treated as if it were a
bitstring value. The encodings of the segments shall appear in the contents octets in the order in which their bits appear
in the overall value.
NOTE 1 – As a consequence of this recursion, each encoding in the contents octets may itself be primitive or constructed.
However, such encodings will usually be primitive.
NOTE 2 – In particular, the tags in the contents octets are always universal class, number 3.
8.6.4.2 Example
If of type BIT STRING,
STRING the value '0A3B5F291CD'H can be encoded as shown below. In this example, the bit string
is represented as a primitive:

BitString Length Contents

0316 0716 040A3B5F291CD016

The value shown above can also be encoded as shown below. In this example, the bit string is represented as a
constructor:

BitString Length Contents

2316 8016 BitString Length Contents

0316 0316 000A3B16
0316 0516 045F291CD016 EOC Length
0016 0016

8.7 Encoding of an octetstring value

8.7.1 The encoding of an octetstring value shall be either primitive or constructed at the option of the sender.
NOTE – Where it is necessary to transfer part of an octet string before the entire octetstring is available, the constructed encoding
is used.

8.7.2 The primitive encoding contains zero, one or more contents octets equal in value to the octets in the data value,
in the order they appear in the data value, and with the most significant bit of an octet of the data value aligned with the
most significant bit of an octet of the contents octets.
8.7.3 The contents octets for the constructed encoding shall consist of zero, one, or more encodings.
NOTE – Each such encoding includes identifier, length, and contents octets, and may include end-of-contents octets if it is
constructed.

8.7.3.1 To encode an octetstring value in this way, it is segmented. Each segment shall consist of a series of
consecutive octets of the value. There shall be no significance placed on the segment boundaries.
NOTE – A segment may be of size zero, i.e. contain no octets.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 9

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.7.3.2 Each encoding in the contents octets shall represent a segment of the overall octetstring, the encoding arising
from a recursive application of this subclause. In this recursive application, each segment is treated as if it were an
octetstring value. The encodings of the segments shall appear in the contents octets in the order in which their octets
appear in the overall value.
NOTE 1 – As a consequence of this recursion, each encoding in the contents octets may itself be primitive or constructed.
However, such encodings will usually be primitive.
NOTE 2 – In particular, the tags in the contents octets are always universal class, number 4.

8.8 Encoding of a null value

8.8.1 The encoding of a null value shall be primitive.
8.8.2 The contents octets shall not contain any octets.
NOTE – The length octet is zero.

EXAMPLE
If of type NULL, the NULL value can be encoded as:
Null Length
0516 0016

8.9 Encoding of a sequence value

8.9.1 The encoding of a sequence value shall be constructed.
8.9.2 The contents octets shall consist of the complete encoding of one data value from each of the types listed in
the ASN.1 definition of the sequence type, in the order of their appearance in the definition, unless the type was
referenced with the keyword OPTIONAL or the keyword DEFAULT.
8.9.3 The encoding of a data value may, but need not, be present for a type which was referenced with the keyword
OPTIONAL or the keyword DEFAULT. If present, it shall appear in the encoding at the point corresponding to the
appearance of the type in the ASN.1 definition.

EXAMPLE
If of type:
SEQUENCE {name IA5String, ok BOOLEAN}
the value:
{name "Smith", ok TRUE}
can be encoded as:
Sequence Length Contents
3016 0A16
IA5String Length Contents
1616 0516 "Smith"
Boolean Length Contents
0116 0116 FF16

8.10 Encoding of a sequence-of value

8.10.1 The encoding of a sequence-of value shall be constructed.
8.10.2 The contents octets shall consist of zero, one or more complete encodings of data values from the type listed
in the ASN.1 definition.
8.10.3 The order of the encodings of the data values shall be the same as the order of the data values in the
sequence- of value to be encoded.

8.11 Encoding of a set value

8.11.1 The encoding of a set value shall be constructed.

10 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.11.2 The contents octets shall consist of the complete encoding of a data value from each of the types listed in the
ASN.1 definition of the set type, in an order chosen by the sender, unless the type was referenced with the keyword
OPTIONAL or the keyword DEFAULT.

8.11.3 The encoding of a data value may, but need not, be present for a type which was referenced with the keyword
OPTIONAL or the keyword DEFAULT.
NOTE – The order of data values in a set value is not significant, and places no constraints on the order during transfer.

8.12 Encoding of a set-of value

8.12.1 The encoding of a set-of value shall be constructed.
8.12.2 The text of 8.10.2 applies.
8.12.3 The order of data values need not be preserved by the encoding and subsequent decoding.

8.13 Encoding of a choice value

The encoding of a choice value shall be the same as the encoding of a value of the chosen type.
NOTE 1 – The encoding may be primitive or constructed depending on the chosen type.
NOTE 2 – The tag used in the identifier octets is the tag of the chosen type, as specified in the ASN.1 definition of the choice
type.

8.14 Encoding of a value of a prefixed type

8.14.1 If the prefixed type is an "EncodingPrefixedType", then the encoding is that of the "Type" in the
"EncodingPrefixedType". If the prefixed type is a "TaggedType", then the following subclauses apply.
8.14.2 The encoding of a tagged value shall be derived from the complete encoding of the corresponding data value
of the type appearing in the "TaggedType" notation (called the base encoding) as specified in 8.14.3 and 8.14.4.
8.14.3 If implicit tagging (see Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 31.2.7) was not used in the definition of the type,
the encoding shall be constructed and the contents octets shall be the complete base encoding.
8.14.4 If implicit tagging was used in the definition of the type, then:
a) the encoding shall be constructed if the base encoding is constructed, and shall be primitive otherwise;
and
b) the contents octets shall be the same as the contents octets of the base encoding.

EXAMPLE
With ASN.1 type definitions (in an explicit tagging environment) of:
Type1 ::= VisibleString
Type2 ::= [APPLICATION 3] IMPLICIT Type1
Type3 ::= [2] Type2
Type4 ::= [APPLICATION 7] IMPLICIT Type3
Type5 ::= [2] IMPLICIT Type2
a value of:
"Jones"
is encoded as follows:
For Type1:
VisibleString Length Contents
1A16 0516 4A6F6E657316
For Type2:
[Application 3] Length Contents
4316 0516 4A6F6E657316
For Type3:
[2] Length Contents
A216 0716
[APPLICATION 3] Length Contents

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 11

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

4316 0516 4A6F6E657316

For Type4:
[Application 7] Length Contents
6716 0716
[APPLICATION 3] Length Contents
4316 0516 4A6F6E657316
For Type5:
[2] Length Contents
8216 0516 4A6F6E657316

8.15 Encoding of an open type

The value of an open type is also a value of some (other) ASN.1 type. The encoding of such a value shall be the
complete encoding herein specified for the value considered as being of that other type.

8.16 Encoding of an instance-of value

8.16.1 The encoding of the instance-of type shall be the BER encoding of the following sequence type with the value
as specified in 8.16.2:
[UNIVERSAL 8] IMPLICIT SEQUENCE {
type-id <DefinedObjectClass
DefinedObjectClass>.&id,
value [0] EXPLICIT <DefinedObjectClass
DefinedObjectClass>.&Type
}

where "<DefinedObjectClass>" is replaced by the particular "DefinedObjectClass" used in the "InstanceOfType"

notation.
NOTE – When the value is a value of a single ASN.1 type and BER encoding is used for it, the encoding of this type is identical
to an encoding of a corresponding value of the external type, where the syntax alternative is in use for representing the abstract
value.

8.16.2 The value of the components of the sequence type in 8.16.1 shall be the same as the values of the
corresponding components of the associated type in Rec. ITU-T X.681 | ISO/IEC 8824- 2, C.7.

8.17 Encoding of a value of the embedded-pdv type

8.17.1 The encoding of a value of the embedded-pdv type shall be the BER encoding of the type as defined in 36.5 of
Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.
8.17.2 The contents of the data-value OCTET STRING shall be the encoding of the abstract data value of the
embedded-pdv type [see 36.3 a) in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1] using the identified transfer syntax, and the value
of all other fields shall be the same as the values appearing in the abstract value.

8.18 Encoding of a value of the external type

8.18.1 The encoding of a value of the external type shall be the BER encoding of the following sequence type,
assumed to be defined in an environment of EXPLICIT TAGS, with a value as specified in the subclauses below:
[UNIVERSAL 8] IMPLICIT SEQUENCE {
direct-reference OBJECT IDENTIFIER OPTIONAL,
indirect-reference INTEGER OPTIONAL,
data-value-descriptor ObjectDescriptor OPTIONAL,
encoding CHOICE {
single-ASN1-type [0] ABSTRACT-SYNTAX.&Type,
octet-aligned [1] IMPLICIT OCTET STRING,
arbitrary [2] IMPLICIT BIT STRING } }
NOTE – This sequence type differs from that in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 for historical reasons.

8.18.2 The value of the fields depends on the abstract value being transmitted, which is a value of the type specified
in 36.5 of Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.
8.18.3 The data-value-descriptor above shall be present if and only if the data-value-descriptor is present
in the abstract value, and shall have the same value.

12 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.18.4 Values of direct-reference and indirect-reference above shall be present or absent in accordance
with Table 2. Table 2 maps the external type alternatives of identification defined in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC
8824-1, 36.5, to the external type components direct-reference and indirect-reference defined in 8.18.1.

Table 2 – Alternative encodings for "identification"

identification direct-reference indirect-reference

syntaxes *** CANNOT OCCUR *** *** CANNOT OCCUR ***

syntax syntax ABSENT
presentation-context-id ABSENT presentation-context-id
context-negotiation transfer-syntax presentation-context-id
transfer-syntax *** CANNOT OCCUR *** *** CANNOT OCCUR ***
fixed *** CANNOT OCCUR *** *** CANNOT OCCUR ***

8.18.5 The data value shall be encoded according to the transfer syntax identified by the encoding, and shall be
placed in an alternative of the encoding choice as specified below.
8.18.6 If the data value is the value of a single ASN.1 data type, and if the encoding rules for this data value are one
of those specified in this Recommendation | International Standard, then the sending implementation shall use any of
the encoding choices:
– single-ASN1-type;
– octet-aligned;
– arbitrary.
as an implementation option.
8.18.7 If the encoding of the data value, using the agreed or negotiated encoding, is an integral number of octets,
then the sending implementation shall use any of the encoding choices:
– octet-aligned;
– arbitrary.

as an implementation option.
NOTE – A data value which is a series of ASN.1 types, and for which the transfer syntax specifies simple concatenation of the
octet strings produced by applying the ASN.1 Basic Encoding Rules to each ASN.1 type, falls into this category, not that of
8.18.6.

8.18.8 If the encoding of the data value, using the agreed or negotiated encoding, is not an integral number of octets,
the encoding choice shall be:
– arbitrary.

8.18.9 If the encoding choice is chosen as single-ASN1-type, then the ASN.1 type shall replace the open type,
with a value equal to the data value to be encoded.
NOTE – The range of values which might occur in the open type is determined by the registration of the object identifier value
associated with the direct-reference, and/or the integer value associated with the indirect-reference.

8.18.10 If the encoding choice is chosen as octet-aligned, then the data value shall be encoded according to the
agreed or negotiated transfer syntax, and the resulting octets shall form the value of the octetstring.
8.18.11 If the encoding choice is chosen as arbitrary, then the data value shall be encoded according to the agreed
or negotiated transfer syntax, and the result shall form the value of the bitstring.

8.19 Encoding of an object identifier value

8.19.1 The encoding of an object identifier value shall be primitive.
8.19.2 The contents octets shall be an (ordered) list of encodings of subidentifiers (see 8.19.3 and 8.19.4)
concatenated together.
Each subidentifier is represented as a series of (one or more) octets. Bit 8 of each octet indicates whether it is the last in
the series: bit 8 of the last octet is zero; bit 8 of each preceding octet is one. Bits 7 to 1 of the octets in the series
collectively encode the subidentifier. Conceptually, these groups of bits are concatenated to form an unsigned binary
number whose most significant bit is bit 7 of the first octet and whose least significant bit is bit 1 of the last octet. The

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 13

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

subidentifier shall be encoded in the fewest possible octets, that is, the leading octet of the subidentifier shall not have
the value 8016.

8.19.3 The number of subidentifiers (N) shall be one less than the number of object identifier components in the
object identifier value being encoded.
8.19.4 The numerical value of the first subidentifier is derived from the values of the first two object identifier
components in the object identifier value being encoded, using the formula:
(X*40)  Y
where X is the value of the first object identifier component and Y is the value of the second object identifier
component.
NOTE – This packing of the first two object identifier components recognizes that only three values are allocated from the root
node, and at most 39 subsequent values from nodes reached by X = 0 and X = 1.

8.19.5 The numerical value of the ith subidentifier, (2  i  N) is that of the (i + 1)th object identifier component.

EXAMPLE
An OBJECT IDENTIFIER value of:
{joint-iso-itu-t 999 3}

which is the same as:

{2 999 3}

has a first subidentifier of 1079 and a second subidentifier of 3. The resulting encoding is:
OBJECT
IDENTIFIER Length Contents
0616 0316 88370316

8.20 Encoding of a relative object identifier value

NOTE – The encoding of the object identifier components in a relative object identifier is the same as the encoding of
components (after the second) in an object identifier.

8.20.1 The encoding of a relative object identifier value shall be primitive.

8.20.2 The contents octets shall be an (ordered) list of encodings of sub-identifiers (see 8.20.3 and 8.20.4)
concatenated together. Each sub-identifier is represented as a series of (one or more) octets. Bit 8 of each octet indicates
whether it is the last in the series: bit 8 of the last octet is zero; bit 8 of each preceding octet is one. Bits 7- 1 of the octets
in the series collectively encode the sub-identifier. Conceptually, these groups of bits are concatenated to form an
unsigned binary number whose most significant bit is bit 7 of the first octet and whose least significant bit is bit 1 of the
last octet. The sub-identifier shall be encoded in the fewest possible octets, that is, the leading octet of the sub-identifier
shall not have the value 8016.

8.20.3 The number of sub-identifiers (N) shall be equal to the number of object identifier arcs in the relative object
identifier value being encoded.
8.20.4 The numerical value of the ith sub-identifier (1  i  N) is that of the ith object identifier arc in the relative
object identifier value being encoded.
8.20.5 EXAMPLE – A relative object identifier value of:
{8571 3 2}
has sub-identifiers of 8571, 3, and 2. The resulting encoding is:
RELATIVE OID Length Contents
0D16 0416 C27B030216

8.21 Encoding of an OID internationalized resource identifier value

8.21.1 The encoding of an OID internationalized resource identifier value shall be primitive.
8.21.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF8 encoding (see ISO/IEC 10646, Annex D) of the characters in the lexical
items in the XML value notation (see Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 34.3) for the OID internationalized resource
identifier type, with no white-space between the encoding of lexical items. Announcers and escape sequences shall not
be used, and each character shall be encoded in the smallest number of octets available for that character.

14 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.22 Encoding of a relative OID internationalized resource identifier value

8.22.1 The encoding of a relative OID internationalized resource identifier value shall be primitive.
8.22.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF8 encoding for the characters of the lexical items in the XML value
notation (see Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 35.3) for the relative OID internationalized resource identifier type,
with no white-space between the encoding of lexical items.

8.23 Encoding for values of the restricted character string types

8.23.1 The data value consists of a string of characters from the character set specified in the ASN.1 type definition.
8.23.2 Each data value shall be encoded independently of other data values of the same type.
8.23.3 Each character string type shall be encoded as if it had been declared:
[UNIVERSAL x] IMPLICIT OCTET STRING

where x is the number of the universal class tag assigned to the character string type in Rec. ITU-T X.680 |
ISO/IEC 8824-1. The value of the octet string is specified in 8.23.4 and 8.23.5.
8.23.4 Where a character string type is specified in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 by direct reference to an
enumerating table (NumericString and PrintableString), the value of the octet string shall be that specified in
8.23.5 for a VisibleString type with the same character string value.
8.23.5 For restricted character strings apart from UniversalString, UTF8String and BMPString, the octet string
shall contain the octets specified in ISO/IEC 2022 for encodings in an 8-bit environment, using the escape sequence and
character codings registered in accordance with ISO/IEC 2375.
8.23.5.1 An escape sequence shall not be used unless it is one of those specified by one of the registration numbers
used to define the character string type in Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.
8.23.5.2 At the start of each string, certain registration numbers shall be assumed to be designated as G0 and/or C0
and/or C1, and invoked (using the terminology of ISO/IEC 2022). These are specified for each type in Table 3, together
with the assumed escape sequence they imply.

Table 3 – Use of escape sequences

Assumed G0 Assumed C0 & C1 Assumed escape

Explicit escape
Type (Registration (Registration sequence(s)
sequences
number) number) and locking shift
(where applicable) allowed?

NumericString 6 None ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 No

PrintableString 6 None ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 No
TeletexString 102 106 (C0) ESC 2/8 7/5 LS0 Yes
(T61String) 107 (C1) ESC 2/1 4/5
ESC 2/2 4/8
VideotexString 102 1 (C0) ESC 2/8 7/5 LS0 Yes
73 (C1) ESC 2/1 4/0
ESC 2/2 4/1
VisibleString 6 None ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 No
(ISO646String)
IA5String 6 1 (C0) ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 No
ESC 2/1 4/0
GraphicString 6 None ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 Yes
GeneralString 6 1 (C0) ESC 2/8 4/2 LS0 Yes
ESC 2/1 4/0
NOTE – Many of the commonly used characters (for example, A-Z) appear in a number of character repertoires with individual
registration numbers and escape sequences. Where ASN.1 types allow escape sequences, a number of encodings may be possible
for a particular character string (see also 7.3).

8.23.5.3 Certain character string types shall not contain explicit escape sequences in their encodings; in all other cases,
any escape sequence allowed by 8.23.5.1 can appear at any time, including at the start of the encoding. Table 3 lists the
types for which explicit escape sequences are allowed.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 15

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.23.5.4 Announcers shall not be used unless explicitly permitted by the user of ASN.1.
NOTE – The choice of ASN.1 type provides a limited form of announcer functionality. Specific application protocols may
choose to carry announcers in other protocol elements, or to specify in detail the manner of use of announcers.

EXAMPLE
With the ASN.1 type definition:
Name ::= VisibleString
a value:
"Jones"

can be encoded (primitive form) as:

VisibleString Length Contents
1A16 0516 4A6F6E657316

or (constructor form, definite length) as:

VisibleString Length Contents
3A16 0916
OctetString Length Contents
0416 0316 4A6F6E16
OctetString Length Contents
0416 0216 657316

or (constructor form, indefinite length) as:

VisibleString Length Contents
3A16 8016
OctetString Length Contents
0416 0316 4A6F6E16
OctetString Length Contents
0416 0216 657316
EOC Length
0016 0016

8.23.6 The above example illustrates three of the (many) possible forms available as a sender's option. Receivers are
required to handle all permitted forms (see 7.3).
8.23.7 For the UniversalString type, the octet string shall contain the octets specified in ISO/IEC 10646, using
the 4-octet canonical form (see 13.2 of ISO/IEC 10646). Signatures shall not be used. Control functions may be used
provided they satisfy the restrictions imposed by 8.23.9.
8.23.8 For the BMPString type, the octet string shall contain the octets specified in ISO/IEC 10646, using the
2- octet BMP form (see 13.1 of ISO/IEC 10646). Signatures shall not be used. Control functions may be used provided
they satisfy the restrictions imposed by 8.23.9.
8.23.9 The C0 and C1 control functions of ISO/IEC 6429 may be used with the following exceptions.
NOTE 1 – The effect of this subclause is to allow the useful control functions such as LF, CR, TAB, etc., while forbidding the
use of escapes to other character sets.
NOTE 2 – The C0 and C1 control functions are each encoded in two octets for BMPString and four for UniversalString.
a) Announcer escape sequences defined in ISO/IEC 2022 shall not be used.
NOTE 3 – The assumed character coding environment is ISO/IEC 10646.
b) Designating or identifying escape sequences defined in ISO/IEC 2022 shall not be used, including the identifying
escape sequences permitted by ISO/IEC 10646, 17.2 and 17.4.
NOTE 4 – ASN.1 allows the use of the PermittedAlphabet subtype notation to select the set of allowed
characters. PermittedAlphabet is also used to select the level of implementation of ISO/IEC 10646. BMPString
is always used for the two-octet form and UniversalString for the four-octet form.
c) Invoking escape sequence or control sequences of ISO/IEC 2022 shall not be used, such as SHIFT IN (SI), SHIFT
OUT (SO), or LOCKING SHIFT FOR G3 (SS3)
d) The coding shall conform to ISO/IEC 10646 and remain in that code set.
e) Control sequences for identifying subsets of graphic characters according to ISO/IEC 10646, 16.3, shall not be used.
NOTE 5 – ASN.1 applications use subtyping to indicate subsets of the graphic characters of ISO/IEC 10646 and
to select the ISO/IEC 10646 cells that correspond to the control characters of ISO/IEC 6429.
f) The escape sequences of ISO/IEC 10646, 16.5, shall not be used to switch to ISO/IEC 2022 codes.

16 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

8.23.10 For the UTF8String type, the octet string shall contain the octets specified in ISO/IEC 10646, Annex D.
Announcers and escape sequences shall not be used, and each character shall be encoded in the smallest number of octets
available for that character.

8.24 Encoding for values of the unrestricted character string type

8.24.1 The encoding of a value of the unrestricted character string type shall be the BER encoding of the type as defined
in 44.5 of Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.
8.24.2 The contents of the string-value OCTET STRING shall be the encoding of the abstract character string value
of the unrestricted character string type [see 44.3 a) of Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1] using the identified character
transfer syntax, and the value of all other fields shall be the same as the values appearing in the abstract value.

8.25 Encoding for values of the useful types

The following "useful types" shall be encoded as if they had been replaced by their definitions given in clauses 46-48 of
Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1:
– generalized time;
– universal time;
– object descriptor.

8.26 Encoding for values of the TIME type and the useful time types
8.26.1 Encoding for values of the TIME type
NOTE – The defined time types are subtypes of the TIME type, with the same tag, and have the same encoding as the TIME type.

8.26.1.1 The encoding of the TIME type shall be primitive.

8.26.1.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF-8 encoding of the value notation, after the removal of initial and final
QUOTATION MARK (34) characters.

8.26.2 Encoding for values of the DATE type

8.26.2.1 The encoding of the DATE type shall be primitive.
8.26.2.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF-8 encoding of the value notation, after the removal of initial and final
QUOTATION MARK (34) characters and all HYPHEN-MINUS (45) characters.

8.26.3 Encoding for values of the TIME-OF-DAY type

8.26.3.1 The encoding of the TIME-OF-DAY type shall be primitive.
8.26.3.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF-8 encoding of the value notation, after the removal of initial and final
QUOTATION MARK (34) characters and all COLON (58) characters.

8.26.4 Encoding for values of the DATE-TIME type

8.26.4.1 The encoding of the DATE-TIME type shall be primitive.
8.26.4.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF-8 encoding of the value notation, after the removal of initial and final
QUOTATION MARK (34) characters, all HYPHEN-MINUS (45) characters, all COLON (58) characters, and the
LATIN CAPITAL LETTER T character.

8.26.5 Encoding for values of the DURATION type

8.26.5.1 The encoding of the DURATION type shall be primitive.
8.26.5.2 The contents octets shall be the UTF-8 encoding of the value notation, after the removal of initial and final
QUOTATION MARK (34) characters and the LATIN CAPITAL LETTER P character.

9 Canonical encoding rules

The encoding of a data values employed by the canonical encoding rules is the basic encoding described in clause 8,
together with the following restrictions and those also listed in clause 11.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 17

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

9.1 Length forms

If the encoding is constructed, it shall employ the indefinite length form. If the encoding is primitive, it shall include the
fewest length octets necessary. [Contrast with 8.1.3.2 b).]

9.2 String encoding forms

Bitstring, octetstring, and restricted character string values shall be encoded with a primitive encoding if they would
require no more than 1000 contents octets, and as a constructed encoding otherwise. The string fragments contained in
the constructed encoding shall be encoded with a primitive encoding. The encoding of each fragment, except possibly
the last, shall have 1000 contents octets. (Contrast with 8.23.6.) The last fragment shall have at least one, and no more
than 1000, contents octets.

9.3 Set components

The encodings of the component values of a set value shall appear in an order determined by their tags as specified
in 8.6 of Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1. Additionally, for the purposes of determining the order in which
components are encoded when one or more component is an untagged choice type, each untagged choice type is
ordered as though it has a tag equal to that of the smallest tag in that choice type or any untagged choice types nested
within.
Example
In the following which assumes a tagging environment of IMPLICIT TAGS:
A ::= SET
{
a [3] INTEGER,
b [1] CHOICE
{
c [2] INTEGER,
d [4] INTEGER
},
e CHOICE
{
f CHOICE
{
g [5] INTEGER,
h [6] INTEGER
},
i CHOICE
{
j [0] INTEGER
}
}
}
the order in which the components of the set are encoded will always be e, b, a, since the tag [0] sorts lowest, then [1],
then [3].

10 Distinguished encoding rules

The encoding of a data values employed by the distinguished encoding rules is the basic encoding described in clause 8,
together with the following restrictions and those also listed in clause 11.

10.1 Length forms

The definite form of length encoding shall be used, encoded in the minimum number of octets. [Contrast
with 8.1.3.2 b).]

10.2 String encoding forms

For bitstring, octetstring and restricted character string types, the constructed form of encoding shall not be used.
(Contrast with 8.23.6.)

18 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

10.3 Set components

The encodings of the component values of a set value shall appear in an order determined by their tags as specified
in 8.6 of Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1.
NOTE – Where a component of the set is an untagged choice type, the location of that component in the ordering will depend on
the tag of the choice component being encoded.

11 Restrictions on BER employed by both CER and DER

References in clause 8 and its subclauses to "shall be the BER encoding" shall be interpreted as "shall be the CER or
DER encoding, as appropriate". (See 8.16.1, 8.17.1, 8.18.1 and 8.24.1.)

11.1 Boolean values

If the encoding represents the boolean value TRUE,
TRUE its single contents octet shall have all eight bits set to one. (Contrast
with 8.2.2.)

11.2 Unused bits

11.2.1 Each unused bit in the final octet of the encoding of a bit string value shall be set to zero.
11.2.2 Where Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1, 22.7, applies, the bitstring shall have all trailing 0 bits removed
before it is encoded.
NOTE 1 – In the case where a size constraint has been applied, the abstract value delivered by a decoder to the application will
be one of those satisfying the size constraint and differing from the transmitted value only in the number of trailing 0 bits.
NOTE 2 – If a bitstring value has no 1 bits, then an encoder shall encode the value with a length of 1 and an initial octet set to 0.

11.3 Real values

11.3.1 If the encoding represents a real value whose base B is 2, then binary encoding employing base 2 shall be
used. Before encoding, the mantissa M and exponent E are chosen so that M is either 0 or is odd.
NOTE – This is necessary because the same real value can be regarded as both {M, 2, E} and {M', 2, E'} with M  M' if, for
some non-zero integer n:
M' = M  2–n
E' = E + n
In encoding the value, the binary scaling factor F shall be zero, and M and E shall each be represented in the fewest
octets necessary.
11.3.2 If the encoding represents a real value whose base B is 10, then decimal encoding shall be used. In forming
the encoding, the following applies:
11.3.2.1 The ISO 6093 NR3 form shall be used (see 8.5.8).
11.3.2.2 SPACE shall not be used within the encoding.
11.3.2.3 If the real value is negative, then it shall begin with a MINUS SIGN (–), otherwise, it shall begin with a digit.
11.3.2.4 Neither the first nor the last digit of the mantissa may be a 0.
11.3.2.5 The last digit in the mantissa shall be immediately followed by FULL STOP (.), followed by the exponent-
mark "E".
11.3.2.6 If the exponent has the value 0, it shall be written "+0", otherwise the exponent's first digit shall not be zero,
and PLUS SIGN shall not be used.

11.4 GeneralString values

The encoding of values of the GeneralString type (and all other restricted character string types defined by reference
to the International Register of Coded Character Sets) shall generate escape sequences to designate and invoke a new
register entry only when the register entry for the character is not currently designated as the G0, G1, G2, G3, C0, or C1
set. All designations and invocations shall be into the smallest numbered G or C set for which there is an escape
sequence defined in the entry of the International Register of Coded Character Sets to be used with Escape Sequences.
NOTE 1 – For the purposes of the above clause, G0 is the smallest numbered G set, followed by G1, G2, and G3 in order. C0 is
the smallest numbered C set, followed by C1.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 19

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

NOTE 2 – Each character in a character string value is associated with a particular entry in the International Register of Coded
Character Sets.

11.5 Set and sequence components with default value

The encoding of a set value or sequence value shall not include an encoding for any component value which is equal to
its default value.

11.6 Set- of components

The encodings of the component values of a set-of value shall appear in ascending order, the encodings being compared
as octet strings with the shorter components being padded at their trailing end with 0-octets.
NOTE – The padding octets are for comparison purposes only and do not appear in the encodings.

11.7 GeneralizedTime
11.7.1 The encoding shall terminate with a "Z", as described in the Rec. ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 clause on
GeneralizedTime.

11.7.2 The seconds element shall always be present.

11.7.3 The fractional-seconds elements, if present, shall omit all trailing zeros; if the elements correspond to 0, they
shall be wholly omitted, and the decimal point element also shall be omitted.
Example
A seconds element of "26.000" shall be represented as "26"; a seconds element of "26.5200" shall be represented
as "26.52".
11.7.4 .".
The decimal point element, if present, shall be the point option ".
11.7.5 Midnight (GMT) shall be represented in the form:
"YYYYMMDD000000Z"
where "YYYYMMDD" represents the day following the midnight in question.
Example
Examples of valid representations:
"19920521000000Z"
"19920622123421Z"
"19920722132100.3Z"
Examples of invalid representations:
"19920520240000Z" (midnight represented incorrectly)
"19920622123421.0Z" (spurious trailing zeros)
"19920722132100.30Z" (spurious trailing zeros)

11.8 UTCTime
11.8.1 The encoding shall terminate with "Z", as described in the ITU-T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 clause on
UTCTime.
11.8.2 The seconds element shall always be present.
11.8.3 Midnight (GMT) shall be represented in the form:
"YYMMDD000000Z"
where "YYMMDD" represents the day following the midnight in question.

11.8.4 Examples of valid representations

"920521000000Z"
"920622123421Z"
"920722132100Z"

20 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

11.8.5 Examples of invalid representations

"920520240000Z" (midnight represented incorrectly)
"9207221321Z" (seconds of "00" omitted)

11.9 The TIME type and the useful time types

11.9.1 The value notation for abstract values of the TIME,
TIME TIME-OF-DAY,
TIME-OF-DAY DATE, DATE-TIME, and DURATION types
shall be converted to a canonical form by the following transformations:
a) All commas used as decimal signs shall be converted to full stop.
b) The minutes digits for all time difference components that are an integral number of hours shall be
removed.
c) If an interval or recurring interval contains a start point and an end point, and the end point contains the
same time difference component as the start point, the time difference component of the end point shall
be removed.
d) For a duration, and for a duration in an interval (or in an interval in a recurring interval) expressed with a
start point and a duration or with a duration and an end point, the value notation shall be modified to
remove all zero time components except the least significant time component that is present in the
instance of the value notation.

11.9.2 The resulting value notation shall then be used to encode the abstract value as specified
in 8.26.

12 Use of BER, CER and DER in transfer syntax definition

12.1 The encoding rules specified in this Recommendation | International Standard can be referenced and applied
whenever there is a need to specify an unambiguous, undivided and self-delimiting octet string representation for all of
the values of a single ASN.1 type.
NOTE – All such octet strings are unambiguous within the scope of the single ASN.1 type. They would not necessarily be
unambiguous if mixed with encodings of a different ASN.1 type.

12.2 The following object identifier, OID internationalized resource identifier (with assignment of Unicode labels)
and object descriptor values are assigned to identify and describe the basic encoding rules specified in this
Recommendation | International Standard:
{joint-iso-itu-t asn1 (1) basic-encoding (1)}
"/ASN.1/Basic-Encoding"
and:
"Basic Encoding of a single ASN.1 type".

12.3 The following object identifier, OID internationalized resource identifier (with assignment of Unicode labels)
and object descriptor values are assigned to identify and describe the canonical encoding rules specified in this
Recommendation | International Standard:
{joint-iso-itu-t asn1(1) ber-derived(2) canonical-encoding(0)}
"/ASN.1/BER-Derived/Canonical-Encoding"
and:
"Canonical encoding of a single ASN.1 type".

12.4 The following object identifier, OID internationalized resource identifier (with assignment of Unicode labels)
and object descriptor values are assigned to identify and describe the distinguished encoding rules specified in this
Recommendation | International Standard:
{joint- iso- itu-t asn1(1) ber-derived(2) distinguished- encoding(1)}
"/ASN.1/BER-Derived/Distinguished-Encoding"
and
"Distinguished encoding of a single ASN.1 type".

12.5 Where an unambiguous specification defines an abstract syntax as a set of abstract values, each of which is a
value of some specifically named ASN.1 type, usually (but not necessarily) a choice type, then one of the object

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 21

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

identifier values specified in 12.2, 12.3 or 12.4 may be used with the abstract syntax name to identify the basic encoding
rules, canonical encoding rules or distinguished encoding rules, respectively, to the specifically named ASN.1 type used
in defining the abstract syntax.
12.6 The names specified in 12.2, 12.3 and 12.4 shall not be used with an abstract syntax name to identify a
transfer syntax unless the conditions of 12.5 for the definition of the abstract syntax are met.

22 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Annex A

Example of encodings
(This annex does not form an integral part of this Recommendation | International Standard.)

This annex illustrates the basic encoding rules specified in this Recommendation | International Standard by showing
the representation in octets of a (hypothetical) personnel record which is defined using ASN.1.

A.1 ASN.1 description of the record structure

The structure of the hypothetical personnel record is formally described below using ASN.1 specified in Rec. ITU-
T X.680 | ISO/IEC 8824-1 for defining types.
PersonnelRecord ::= [APPLICATION 0] IMPLICIT SET {
name Name,
title [0] VisibleString,
number EmployeeNumber,
dateOfHire [1] Date,
nameOfSpouse [2] Name,
children [3] IMPLICIT
SEQUENCE OF ChildInformation DEFAULT {} }
ChildInformation ::= SET
{ name Name,
dateOfBirth [0] Date}
Name ::= [APPLICATION 1] IMPLICIT SEQUENCE
{ givenName VisibleString,
initial VisibleString,
familyName VisibleString}
EmployeeNumber ::= [APPLICATION 2] IMPLICIT INTEGER
Date ::= [APPLICATION 3] IMPLICIT VisibleString -- YYYYMMDD

A.2 ASN.1 description of a record value

The value of John Smith's personnel record is formally described below using ASN.1.
{ name {givenName "John",initial "P",familyName "Smith"},
title "Director",
number 51,
dateOfHire "19710917",
nameOfSpouse {givenName "Mary",initial "T",familyName "Smith"},
children
{
{name {givenName "Ralph",initial "T",familyName "Smith"},
dateOfBirth "19571111"
},
{name {givenName "Susan",initial "B",familyName "Jones"},
dateOfBirth "19590717"
}
}
}

A.3 Representation of this record value

The representation in octets of the record value given above (after applying the basic encoding rules defined in this
Recommendation | International Standard) is shown below. The values of identifiers, lengths, and the contents of
integers are shown in hexadecimal, two hexadecimal digits per octet. The values of the contents of character strings are
shown as text, one character per octet.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 23

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Personl.
record Length Contents
60 8185 Name Length Contents
61 10 VisibleString Length Contents
1A 04 "John"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 01 "P"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Smith"
Title Length Contents
A0 0A VisibleString Length Contents
1A 08 "Director"
Employee
number Length Contents
42 01 33
Date of
hire Length Contents
A1 0A Date Length Contents
43 08 "19710917"
Spouse Length Contents
A2 12 Name Length Contents
61 10 VisibleString Length Contents
1A 04 "Mary"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 01 "T"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Smith"
[3] Length Contents
A3 42 Set Length Contents
31 1F Name Length Contents
61 11 VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Ralph"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 01 "T"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Smith"
Date of birth Length Contents
A0 0A Date Length Contents
43 08 "19571111"
Set Length Contents
31 1F Name Length Contents
61 11 VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Susan"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 01 "B"
VisibleString Length Contents
1A 05 "Jones"
Date of birth Length Contents
A0 0A Date Length Contents
43 08 "19590717"

24 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Annex B

Identification of Encoding Rules

(This annex does not form an integral part of this Recommendation | International Standard.)

The following object identifier, OID internationalized resource identifier and object descriptor values are assigned in
this Recommendation | International Standard:
Subclause Object Identifier Value
12.2 {joint-iso-itu-t asn1 (1) basic-encoding (1)}
OID internationalized Resource Identifier Value
"/ASN.1/Basic-Encoding"
Object Descriptor Value
"Basic Encoding of a single ASN.1 type"
Subclause Object Identifier Value
12.3 {joint-iso-itu-t asn1(1) ber-derived(2) canonical-encoding(0)}
OID internationalized Resource Identifier Value
"/ASN.1/BER-Derived/Canonical-Encoding"
Object Descriptor Value
"Canonical encoding of a single ASN.1 type"
Subclause Object Identifier Value
12.4 {joint-iso-itu-t asn1(1) ber-derived(2) distinguished-encoding(1)}
OID internationalized Resource Identifier Value
"/ASN.1/BER-Derived/Distinguished-Encoding"
Object Descriptor Value
"Distinguished encoding of a single ASN.1 type"

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 25

ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

Annex C

Illustration of real value encoding

(This annex does not form an integral part of this Recommendation | International Standard.)

C.1 A sender will normally examine his own hardware floating point representation to determine the
(value- independent) algorithms to be used to transfer values between this floating-point representation and the length
and contents octets of the encoding of an ASN.1 real value. This annex illustrates the steps which could be taken in such
a process by using the (artificial) hardware floating point representation of the mantissa shown in Figure C.1.
It is assumed that the exponent can easily be obtained from the floating point hardware as an integer value E.
b8 b1 b8 b1

X.690_FC1

Mantissa
Octet 1 Octet 5

Figure C.1 – Floating point representation

C.2 The contents octets which need to be generated for sending a non-zero value using binary encoding (as
specified in the body of this Recommendation | International Standard) are:
1 S bb ff ee Octets for E Octets for N
where S (the mantissa sign) is dependent on the value to be converted, bb is a fixed value (say 10) to represent the base
(in this case let us assume base 16), ff is the fixed F value calculated as described in C.3, and ee is a fixed length of
exponent value calculated as described in C.4. (This annex does not treat the case where E needs to exceed three octets.)
C.3 The algorithm will transmit octets 1 to 5 of the hardware representation as the value of N, after forcing bits 8
to 3 of octet 1 and bits 4 to 1 of octet 5 to zero. The implied decimal point is assumed to be positioned between bits 2
and 1 of octet 1 in the hardware representation which delivers the value of E. Its implied position can be shifted to the
nearest point after the end of octet 5 by reducing the value of E before transmission. In our example system we can shift
by four bits for every exponent decrement (because we are assuming base 16), so a decrement of 9 will position the
implied point between bits 6 and 5 of octet 6. Thus the value of M is N multiplied by 23 to position the point correctly
in M. (The implied position in N, the octets transferred, is after bit 1 of octet 5.) Thus we have the crucial parameters:
F = 3 (so ff is 11)
exponent decrement = 9
C.4 The length needed for the exponent is now calculated by working out the maximum number of octets needed
to represent the values:
Emin – excess – exponent decrement
Emax – excess – exponent decrement

where Emin and Emax are minimum and maximum integer values of the exponent representation, excess is any value
which needs subtracting to produce the true exponent value, and the exponent decrement is as calculated in C.3. Let us
assume this gives a length of 3 octets. Then ee is 10. Let us also assume excess is zero.
C.5 The transmission algorithm is now:
a) Transmit the basic encoding rules identifier octets field with a tag for ASN.1 type real.
b) Test for zero, and if so, transmit an ASN.1 basic encoding rules length field with value of zero (no
contents octets), and end the algorithm.
c) Test and remember the mantissa sign, and negate the mantissa if negative.
d) Transmit an ASN.1 basic encoding rules length field with value of 9, then:
– 11101110, if negative; or
– 10101110, if positive.
e) Produce and transmit the 3 octet exponent with value:
E–9
f) Zero bits 8 to 3 of octet 1 and bits 4 to 1 of octet 5, then transmit the 5 octet mantissa.

26 Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021)

 ISO/IEC 8825-1:2021 (E)

C.6 The receiving algorithm has to be prepared to handle any ASN.1 basic encoding, but here the floating point
unit can be directly used. We proceed as follows:
a) Check octet 1 of the contents; if it is 1x101110 we have a transmission compatible with ours, and can
simply reverse the sending algorithm.
b) Otherwise, for character encoding, invoke standard character decimal to floating point conversion
software, and deal with a "SpecialRealValue" according to the application semantics (perhaps setting the
largest and smallest number the hardware floating point can handle).
c) For a binary transmission, put N into the floating point unit, losing octets at the least significant end if
necessary, multiply by 2F, and by BE, then negate if necessary. Implementers may find optimization
possible in special cases, but may find (apart from the optimization relating to transmissions from a
compatible machine) that testing for them loses more than they gain.
C.7 The above algorithms are illustrative only. Implementers will, of course, determine their own best strategies.

Rec. ITU-T X.690 (02/2021) 27