Most remote systems send and receive information primarily in text form. They can represent a character on the screen with either 7 or 8 data bits. If you know what the remote system wants, you can set it and forget it.
· Tip: If you have to guess, you can usually tell that you guessed wrong if your screen is full of "garbage" characters.
· Tip: If the remote host sends you binary data, such as photos, compressed files, or executable files, it probably uses 8 bits.