Re: Adding RAINBOW FLAG to Unicode

On 7/2/2015 12:33 PM, Leo Broukhis wrote:
> If REGIONAL INDICATOR DASH and REGIONAL INDICATOR digits are added,
> along with regional supplementary symbols, then sequences
> <RIS><RIS><RID><RSS>*<RIS> can be parsed unambiguously as ISO 3166-2,
> whereas <RIS><RSS>+<RIS> can be parsed as a named sequence signifying
> a flag of a non-governmental entity (or <RIS><RSS><RIS> - as ISO
> 3166-1 alpha 3, and longer sequences as non-governmental).
>
>

The point of switching to the TAG characters for an extension
mechanism beyond what the RIS pairs can handle is that
TAG characters for letters *and* digits *and* dash already exist
and do not have to be encoded yet again before they could be used.

Any proposal that depends on getting agreement to encode and
publish some *further* set of meta-characters for representing
letters, digits, and ASCII punctuation marks would at this point
push out any possible solution to the time frame of Unicode 10.0
(June, 2017). And even that would depend on first coming to
agreement that *more* sets of meta-characters for dealing with
the same kind of function that TAG characters could already serve
would be a good idea. The potential for significant disagreement could
push such a solution out even further. Remember that any
solution involving encoding more characters with "funny behavior"
would need not only to gain consensus in the UTC, but would
also have to pass muster in SC2 and pass two formal ballots by
the national bodies.

You could create an equivalent proposal to what you are suggesting
above by simply substituting <TAG-DASH> and <TAG-[0..9]> for your
RID and RSS above -- and you could do it *now*, instead of in 2017.

But once we look to TAG characters for an extension mechanism,
why mess with the existing RIS pair syntax and break the existing
implementations using them? Hence, the direction taken in
PRI #399, which suggests an extension syntax based entirely on
the TAG characters.

--Ken
Received on Thu Jul 02 2015 - 14:58:59 CDT