Re: [indic] Re: Lack of Complex script rendering support on Android

On 4 November 2011 16:46, jitendra <jituviju_at_gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear All,
> I wish to stick my neck out and make some exploratory , though humble
> statements.
> The issue of complex script not being enabled in various OSes and interfaces
> is linked to font. I mean if unicode had been truly font-independent or at
> least if unicode had been dependent on only truly free fonts (of complex
> script), the problem could be resolved.
> Opentype, Open Font(ISO) as also the Harfbuzz all orginate from the same
> proprietary standard .
> Is that the reason why many systems cannot adopt complex (i.e.Indian)
> sctipts readily?
> What is the way out?
> Response from several Indian government bodies (including most importantly
> TDIL in DIT) is lukewarm , so far at least.
>
>
> regards

Jitendra

Unicode, which is a character encoding not a glyph encoding standard,
*is* font independent - and even font technology independent.
OpenType, AAT, and Graphite fonts can all render Unicode text for
complex scripts.

OpenType is an openly available specification for fonts which anyone
can use without paying a licence to adobe or microsoft who maintain
the specification

Systems can adopt OpenType readily. All Indian scripts work fine on my
Nokia N900 which runs Linux. For some reason though Google crippled
Android by not including support for OpenType font rendering - or
support fo any alternative technology.

I don't know about TDIL - they should be taking the lead in this by
insisting handsets sold in India can support Indic scripts

- Chris

Thimphu, Bhutan
Received on Sat Nov 05 2011 - 14:01:36 CDT