Re: Language tags (as if there weren't enough to do)

From: Michael Everson (everson@indigo.ie)
Date: Fri Oct 02 1998 - 13:32:45 EDT


Ar 09:55 -0700 1998-10-02, scríobh John Cowan:
>Michael Everson wrote:
>
>> Well, they are METACHARACTERS. Your editing software could turn them on and
>> off like other invisibles. But *obviously* they have to be visible (and as
>> such "graphic characters") when you type them or you could never see what
>> you wrote.
>
>The same might be said of the control characters in the General
>Punctuation block at 202A-202E or 206A-206F. During typing, it's
>useful to have a glyph for them, but they are not graphic characters.

Aha. Then the language tags (which would not be language tags but could be
any metacharacter) would be just exactly like them.

>> The Outer Planes have no magic in them that 6 columns in the BMP
>> couldn't achieve. Defined as metacharacters they could simply be used
>> without escape sequences or whatever it was that people wanted to avoid by
>> chucking them into the Outer Planes.
>
>They were put on the Astral Planes solely for political reasons.
>I proposed a much-reduced set on the BMP (just A-Z, 0-9, and hyphus,
>the characters in the long names) and was told that the BMP was
>a sacred space, etc. etc.

Hunh. Well, I didn't know about that.

Anyway, since it wasn't my idea, I have now discharged my conscience and
leave it to the UTC to decide what they want to do about this or Plane 14.

--
Michael Everson, Everson Gunn Teoranta ** http://www.indigo.ie/egt
15 Port Chaeimhghein Íochtarach; Baile Átha Cliath 2; Éire/Ireland
Guthán: +353 1 478-2597 ** Facsa: +353 1 478-2597 (by arrangement)
27 Páirc an Fhéithlinn;  Baile an Bhóthair;  Co. Átha Cliath; Éire



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