Noreen,
It's my understanding that the "descriptive" codes are specifically designed to be cross-platform, while number codes are always specific to a particular browser.
Pene Azul,
Thanks for that link to WebMonkey. Never been there before and it looks like there's LOTS of good info there. (I was about to give my own best link for "special characters" but WebMonkey's is WAY better!)
Blessed Be, NightWing