From: verdy_p (verdy_p@wanadoo.fr)
Date: Fri Jan 30 2009 - 03:55:00 CST
De : "William J Poser"
> A : jcb+unicode@inf.ed.ac.uk, unicode@unicode.org
> Copie à :
> Objet : Re: Urgent call for clarification of Armenian numbering rules
>
> "Is there any suggestion that use of letters as numerals is not merely
> historical?"
>
> Armenian books still use the letters-as-numerals for page numbers.
This is not specific to Armenian books. To my knowledge, at least in Latin-based languages (e.g. English, French,
and so on), large books often include some sections whose pages are numbered with different styles, sometimes using
alphabetic letters numbering, or Roman numeric (lowercase or uppercase).
This is not limited to page numbers, but frequently include as well the numbering of volumes, main headings,
chapters, sections or subsections. And different numbering styles (in addition to different font styles if needed)
are frequently used for each level of numbering, allowing hierarchical references (such as "III.B.2.a.iv")
There is also the need for the numbering of footnotes, or section notes (like external references).
> Otherwise, to my knowledge, this system is obsolete.
That's an unproven assertion, given that such system is widespread in so many modern books with multiple sections
(such as guides, dictionaries, educational training books), as well as in almost all religious books for various
religions in the world (for numbering their texts, headings and verses).
Only the books with the simplest structure (such as isolated litterary books that are not part of a series) use a
single numeric style (but the publishers frequently add introduction pages or advertizing pages for "similar" or
related works that are part of their collections, or detailed tables of contents, indexes, references, table of
tables, table of illustrations, glossaries, etc. and will not number these pages the same way as the central work;
for books from the best authors, you'll also find sometimes some preface written by somebody else and commenting or
presenting the work in its context; some prefaces are quite long and adopt their own page numbering...).
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