Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site cheviot.uucp Path: utzoo!linus!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!mcvax!ukc!cheviot!ncx From: ncx@cheviot.uucp (Lindsay F. Marshall) Newsgroups: net.internat Subject: Re: What do we REALLY want? Message-ID: <455@cheviot.uucp> Date: Wed, 9-Oct-85 05:27:04 EDT Article-I.D.: cheviot.455 Posted: Wed Oct 9 05:27:04 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 11-Oct-85 08:35:00 EDT References: <723@inset.UUCP> Reply-To: ncx@cheviot.UUCP (Lindsay F. Marshall) Organization: U. of Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K. Lines: 29 In article <723@inset.UUCP> jr@inset.UUCP (Jim R Oldroyd) writes: > >I believe that the time is now ripe for the computer world >to take a jump from the traditional viewpoint and realize >that users' requirements in these days of networks and >typesetters are already far ahead of anything that an >enhanced character set can provide. > The mention of typesetters shows the way to go. Instead of a concept of character set we need the printer's concept of 'font'*. Ok, that makes programming a little difficult (!) as you have to know which font you're in so as to understand the significance of the character, but it does allow you to manage user defined symbols in a much cleaner way, and may mean that you can get away without having to extend the number of bits in a character so as to cope with every possible character set in the world as your fonts need only contain the characters that you want them to. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Lindsay F. Marshall, Computing Lab., U of Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne & Wear, UK ARPA : lindsay%cheviot.newcastle.ac.uk@ucl-cs.arpa JANET : lindsay@uk.ac.newcastle.cheviot UUCP : !ukc!cheviot!lindsay ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * fount n. A complete assortment of types of one sort, with all that is necessary for printing that kind of letter. - Also (esp. USA) font. [Fr. fonte - fondre - L. fundere, to cast] Chambers Twentieth Century Dictionary 1966 edition.