After a couple of additional inputs, I thought it might be
helpful for the record to distribute an amended list of options
regarding U+0192 (note revision of option 4 - credit due to
John Cowan - and addition of option 5 - credit due to Rich
Gillam):
Options:
1) leave it as it is
pros: no cost to existing implementations and data
cons: inadequately addresses (future?) needs of speakers whose
language is written with IAI biliabial f, and presents a
problem to implementers that want to support both uses
2) disunify; U+0192 used for IAI bilabial f, and new character
assigned for florin
pros: achieves disunification, which better serves users and
implementers; permits each character having those semantics
that make most sense for the intended use of the character
cons: breaks existing implementations and data
3) disunify; U+0192 used for florin, and leave semantics of
U+0192 as is
pros: minimal cost to existing implementations (and data?);
achieves disunification, which better serves users and
implementers
cons: semantics of U+0192 would be misleading at best and more
likely ignored in many implementations (implementations that do
what most users would really want would not be Conformant)
4) disunify; U+0192 used for florin, but change semantics of
U+0192 to cat = Sc, bidi = Et; leave name as is
pros: achieves disunification, which better serves
implementers; permits each character having those semantics
that make most sense for the intended use of the character;
minimal cost to existing implementations and data (assuming
that U+0192 has usually been treated as florin)
cons: violates a fundamental rule of the standard that
normative semantics do not change in order to protect existing
implementations; name of U+1092 is misleading
5) leave U+0192 as is; add two new characters for florin and
IAI bilabial f semantics
pros: does not break existing implementations; provides
unambiguous solution for future implementations; new characters
have names and semantics appropriate to the two intended
functions and are located in appropriate blocks; has precedent
in treatment of hyphen-minus
cons: inertia of existing implementations will lead to slow
migration from use of U+0192 to use of new characters, and may
never be entirely successful; additional work required in
future implementations in handling (ambiguous) mapping from
U+0192 in legacy data to new characters
A couple of ameliorating comments on the cons of option 5: Even
if new implementations fail to abandon the use of U+0192 for
florin in favour of a new, umambiguous florin character, there
is still benefit gained from the addition of an unambiguous
character for IAI bilabial f. Also, the work required in future
implementations in handling the ambiguous mapping from U+0192
to the new characters is not different in any significant way
in the work required to handle the ambiguity for any existing
legacy data in options 2, 3 and 4, and for all data in option
1.
Peter
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