Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!geovision!alastair From: alastair@geovision.UUCP (Alastair Mayer) Newsgroups: can.francais,can.general Subject: Re: Accents et objectifs Message-ID: <121@geovision.UUCP> Date: Wed, 29-Jul-87 23:10:53 EDT Article-I.D.: geovisio.121 Posted: Wed Jul 29 23:10:53 1987 Date-Received: Sat, 1-Aug-87 11:47:46 EDT References: <424@pembina.UUCP> <228@Mannix.iros1.UUCP> <232@Mannix.iros1.UUCP> <1202@cognos.UUCP> Reply-To: alastair@geovision.UUCP (Alastair Mayer) Distribution: can Organization: Geovision Corporation, Ottawa, Canada Lines: 35 Xref: dciem can.francais:29 can.general:662 In article <1202@cognos.UUCP> roberts@cognos.UUCP (Robert Stanley) writes: > [...] However, I >think this brings us round to the need for a character set which includes all >possible accented letter combinations as unique codes, or a standard for >encoding accents in text strings. > > [..more stuff on various char codes, eg EBCDIC or 144-char sets omitted] > Uh, does anyone out there remember NAPLPS? (aka ANSI standard , aka CSA standard , aka Telidon) This code defines standard ways for transmitting any accented character needed in virtually all European languages. The sequence was essentially The escape-code indicated a single-letter shift to the appropriate G set, in which the codes for accents (and cedillas, umlauts, etc) are defined as "non-spacing", ie printed without moving the cursor. Whatever letter follows then overstrikes the accent. (My NAPLPS ref isn't handy so I can't give the specific codes). I once proposed this as a method for encoding accented letters in another electronic messaging system (CoSy) and some work was done toward modifying PC terminal programs to support this, but it sort of withered from lack of interest. On a more concrete note, Hewlett-Packard seems dedicated to supporting an international character set, based on 16-bit characters. A lot (but not all) of the commands on our H-P 840 Unix system claim to support the 16-bit char set (I've nver had the need or opportunity to try it). Japan is also going to a 16-bit character Unix. Is the 8-bit character as obsolete as the 6-bit character? :-) -- Alastair JW Mayer BIX: al UUCP: ...!utzoo!dciem!nrcaer!cognos!geovision!alastair (Why do they call it a signature file if I can't actually *sign* anything?)