Xref: utzoo comp.emacs:4550 comp.lang.c:13744 comp.sys.ibm.pc:20778
Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!auspex!guy
From: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs,comp.lang.c,comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Programming and international character sets.
Message-ID: <381@auspex.UUCP>
Date: 2 Nov 88 06:45:05 GMT
References: <532@krafla.rhi.hi.is> <8804@smoke.BRL.MIL> <207@jhereg.Jhereg.MN.ORG>
Reply-To: guy@auspex.UUCP (Guy Harris)
Followup-To: comp.lang.c
Organization: Auspex Systems, Santa Clara
Lines: 12

>This also requires some fancy footwork on the part of applications, since
>displaying these messages is bound to be very difficult since some 
>languages read left-to-right, some read right-to-left, and some sucn as
>Mongolian, do both and even go diagonally.  Add string attributs such as 
>centering and justification and character attributes such as inverse, normal 
>and blinking and messaging becomes very interesting indeed.

And then add, on top of that, the fact that computer displays are often
graphical, not just text.  For instance, you might have an array of
"buttons" on the screen; the layout of the panel might differ depending
on whether the buttons are filled up with short English words or
typicalverylongGermanwords.