From the Wikipedia "ANSI escape code" article:
The name "ANSI escape sequence" dates from 1981 when ANSI adopted ECMA-48 as the standard ANSI X3.64 (and later, in 1997, withdrew it).
Does anybody know why the standard has been withdrawn. I tried to follow the link in the article but didn't find anything.
Best Answer
I found this paragraph in a withdrawal letter for FIPS which might be why it was withdrawn:
excerpt from withdrawal letter
There is also this letter/email:
Which discusses that the NIST and the Dept. of Commerce were dropping national designations for things such as ANSI 3.64 when they already had a international designation (ISO).
excerpt from that letter/email
I would interpret this as follows: Since ECMA-48 already covered the standard at an international level there was no need to create redundant standards within ANSI.