A TeX character code is the numerical component identifying a character in TeX's character model. An ordinary character TeX token combines that code with a TeX category code. Classic TeX uses an eight-bit character-code range, 0–255.[ref]
For example, under the usual ASCII mapping, a has code 97. Reading it once with category 11 and again with category 12 produces the pairs and . The first component stays the same; the syntactic classification changes. This is why a TeX macro can distinguish inputs that look alike on the page.
The number does not identify a universal glyph. A computer font supplies the printed form, and a glyph index belongs to that font. The classic range should also not be treated as a restriction on every extended TeX engine.

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