Text files can only represent a limited number of characters, so they are much easier for a computer to translate into binary code. For example, while an ASCII file can contain any length of text from a short note to an entire novel, that text can only utilize a predefined selection of 128 letters, numbers, special characters, and formatting features. While other text systems may permit a larger character set, they are still generally much simpler than other types of files, such as software program and media files.