FW: Is it a font or an encoding?

From: Hart, Edwin F. (HartEF1@APLMSG.JHUAPL.EDU)
Date: Wed Sep 10 1997 - 11:25:43 EDT


I strongly disagree with Lisa Brownell and Michael Kung!

You have BOTH a new coded-character-set (code) and a new coded-font
(font) . Had you merely changed the glyphs from serif to sans serif
or a script form, you would have had a font change rather than a
change to the code table. However, by changing the graphic symbols
(glyphs) associated with the code positions in 0x80 to 0x9F to
represent different character information, you have changed the
underlying information. Therefore, you have a different character set
associated and a new code table and therefore, are using a different
code.

While a code-table for a coded-character-set and a coded-font are
closely related, they are different. You appear to be using
coded-fonts where the code position of the character in the code table
is used to index the glyphs (shapes and metrics) in the coded-font.
 Once you change the character code, you need a corresponding change
to the coded-font table to be able to render the new characters.

Reference: Unicode 2.0 CD ROM, "An operational model for characters
and glyphs", also in the IUC 11 Proceedings. This is popularly
called, "The character-glyph model".

Edwin Hart

Mmm...
In reality, you create a new 'character set' to be used only in font
domain.
It is a new 'encoding'. But it is not a new code set.
Regards,

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++
Michael Kung
40P-972 Phone: (650)
506-6954
Manager, Server Globalization Technology Fax: (650) 506-7225
Languages and Relational Technology Email: mkung@us.oracle.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
+++++

From: Lori Brownell <loribr@microsoft.com>
[SMTP:unicode@unicode.org]
Sent: 09 September, 1997 08:08
To: Multiple; Recipients; of; unicode@unicode.org
Subject: RE: Is it a font or an encoding?

You have not created a new encoding, only a new font. Regardless of
what glyphs are at what code points in the font, the encoding remains
the same. However, doing this will likely confuse people into
thinking that you have changed the encoding because the system will
display the "wrong" glyph according to the encoding for any code point
you have changed within the font.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Randy Williams [SMTP:sasrsw@wnt.sas.com]
> Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 1997 6:46 AM
> To: Multiple Recipients of
> Subject: Is it a font or an encoding?
>
>
> Folks,
>
> This is not directly a Unicode question, but I hope people
> don't mind my posting this here.
>
> I hope you can settle a debate I am having with a co-worker.
>
> Given a font that is ship on Windows where this font has various
> glyphs replaced in the 0x80 - 0x9F range with 22 "Box Drawing"
> characters. These are the 22 "Box Drawing" characters that are
> found in cp850 on IBM PC and are found in U+2500 plane of Unicode.
> These 22 "Box Drawing" characters do not exist in Windows cp1252
> encoding. So the replacement is done to add those characters to the
> font and the font otherwise is exactly like cp1252.
>
> One of us claims that this font has effectively created a new
> encoding. The other claims that this is just a new font. Which
> is it?
>
> Thanks,
> Randy
>
>
----------------------------------------------------------------------

> --
> ---------------------------
> Randolph S. Williams
> National Language Support
                                    Voice:
> 919.677.8000
> SAS Institute Inc.
> Fax: 919.677.4444
> Cary, NC 27513 USA
> Email:
> sasrsw@wnt.sas.com
>



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