"Christopher John Fynn" <cfynn@dircon.co.uk>:
CF> Despite all the above I agree that 32 bits makes sense - even if
CF> you never actually need the extra encoding slots the extra bits
CF> provide.
As people have already noted, the limitation to 21 bits is useful for
implementations. I read the 21 bit limitation as an official state-
ment saying ``feel free to use the top 11 bits of every word for any
purpose you see fit, and rest assured that your choice of data
representation will not need to be revised as we add new codepoints''.
I am grateful for this reassurance.
I am sorry to bring such down-to-earth considerations as implemen-
tation and efficiency issues to this list. To quote one of my former
lecturers, while a beautiful theoretical construction doesn't need
justification, having applications can never harm.
J.
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