BETA Unicode® 14.0.0
| Note: The beta review period for Unicode 14.0.0 has closed,
as of
July 13, 2021. Feedback received during the public review can be
referred to from PRI #433.
This beta review page is
left active, however, for convenience of access to the prepublication versions
of the Unicode 14.0.0 data files and annexes, until the formal release
planned for September 14, 2021. |
The next version of the Unicode Standard will be Version 14.0.0, planned for release on
September 14, 2021. This version updates several annexes to deal with
segmentation issues and adds significant new repertoire.
A total of 838 new characters are encoded, including
37 new emoji characters,
five new scripts, and multiple additions to existing blocks.
A beta version of the 14.0.0 Unicode Character Database files is available for public review.
We strongly encourage implementers to review the summary description,
download the beta 14.0.0 Unicode Character Database files,
and test their programs with the new data, well before the end of the beta period. It is especially important
to review the Notable Issues for Beta Reviewers.
We encourage users to check the code charts carefully
to verify correctness of the new characters added to Unicode 14.0.0 and to ensure
that there are no regressions
in glyph shapes for previously encoded characters.
Related Unicode Technical Standards
In addition to the Unicode Standard proper, four other Unicode Technical
Standards have significant text and data file updates that are
correlated with the new additions for Unicode 14.0.0. Review of that text
and data is also encouraged during the beta review period.
Review and Feedback
For guidance on how to focus your review, see the section
Notable Issues for Beta Reviewers.
Any feedback should be
reported using the contact form.
Comments on the Unicode Standard Version 14.0.0
or the Unicode Character Database data files should refer to the beta review
Public Review Issue #433.
Comments on specific Version 14.0.0 UAXes and UTSes should refer to the respective
Public Review Issue Numbers
for each document, where available.
The comment period ends
July 13, 2021.
All substantive technical comments must have been received by that date for
consideration at the July UTC meeting. Editorial comments (typos,
etc.) may be still submitted after that date for consideration in the final
editorial work.
Note: All beta files may be updated, replaced, or
superseded by other files at any time. The beta files will be
discarded once Unicode 14.0.0 is final. It is inappropriate to cite
these files as other than a work in progress. No
products or implementations should be released based on the beta
UCD data files—use only the final, approved Version 14.0.0 data
files, expected on September 14, 2021.
The Unicode Consortium provides early access to updated versions of the data files
and text to give reviewers and developers as much time as possible to ensure a problem-free adoption of
Version 14.0.0.
The assignment of characters for Unicode 14.0.0 is
now stable. There will be no further
additions or modifications of code points and no further changes to character names.
Please do not submit feedback requesting changes to code points
or character names for Unicode 14.0.0, as such feedback is not actionable.
One of the main purposes of the beta review period is to verify and
correct the preliminary character property assignments in the Unicode Character
Database. Reviewers should check for property changes to existing Unicode 13.0.0
characters, as well as the property values for the new Unicode 14.0.0 character
additions. The Auxiliary
HTML charts include the new characters highlighted in yellow, with names
appearing when hovering over a cell. These charts
may be useful for reviewing information such as the default collation order,
Script property assignments, and so forth during beta review.
To facilitate verification of the property changes and additions,
diffable XML versions
of the Unicode Character Database are available. These XML
files are dated, so that people can check the details of changes that occurred
during the beta review period. For more information,
see the
diffs.readme.txt
file.
The beta review period is a good opportunity to add support for the new
Unicode 14.0.0 characters in internal versions of software, so that software can
be tested to verify that the new characters and property assignments do not cause
problems when upgraded to Version 14.0.0 of Unicode.
Notable Issues for Beta Reviewers
Changes to Unicode Standard Annexes
Some of the Unicode Standard Annexes have modifications for
Unicode 14.0.0, often in coordination with changes to character properties.
Most notably for Unicode 14.0.0:
- In UAX #38, Unicode Han Databae (Unihan) there have been significant
updates to the descriptions of
many data fields.
- In UAX #45, U-Source Ideographs, descriptions were added for new data fields (total strokes and
first residual stroke) in the associated data file.
The KangXi dictionary index field was obsoleted.
New information was added about the submission process for U-Source ideographs.
See the Modifications section of each Annex for details of the relevant changes.
Core Specification Update
The core specification is undergoing extensive review, with
numerous additions for Version 14.0.0. Although the draft text for Version 14.0.0
is not yet available, specific reports of any technical or editorial
issues in the currently published core specification
are also welcome during the beta review
period. Such reports will be taken into consideration for corrections
to the Version 14.0.0 draft. (Note: The Unicode Consortium has ongoing
opportunities for subject-matter volunteers: experts interested in contributing to or
editing relevant parts of the core specification or other Unicode specifications.)
Script-specific Issues
Five new scripts have been added in Unicode 14.0.0. Some of these scripts have
particular attributes which may cause issues for implementations. The more
important of these attributes are summarized here.
- Old Uyghur is an abjad, historically related to Sogdian. Representation
of Old Uyghur text poses many significant issues. See the original proposal
documentation in L2/20-191
for an extensive discussion.
Casing Issues
Four new Latin case pairs and one new Glagolitic case pair have been added
in Version 14.0.0. In addition, one of the newly added scripts, Vithkuqi,
is a bicameral script with casing. Implementations
of case mapping and case folding should be checked to ensure they account
correctly for the new case pairs.
Numeric Property Issues
- A new set of decimal digits has been added for the Tangsa script.
See U+16AC0..U+16AC9. Implementations of digits will need to take those
into account.
Unihan-related Issues
All Unihan
properties should be reviewed carefully. Additionally, the following
deserve special attention:
- A new provisional property, kStrange, has been added to Unihan.
This property is documented in detail in a new Unicode Technical
Note, UTN #43.
- The provisional kCantonese property was extensively refined.
This work included 6,000 additional property values, as well as changing the property
values for nearly 5,000 existing ideographs to reflect only one reading.
- Over 1,000 kIRG_VSource property values with "VU-"" prefix were changed
to use the "VN-" prefix.
See UAX #38 for further details on these changes, especially Section 4.2, Listing
by Date of Addition to the Unicode Standard, and Section 4.3, Listing by
Location within Unihan.zip.
UAX #38 also has updated regex values for numerous
Unihan properties.
Code Charts
As always, careful review of the updated code charts for Version 14.0.0 is advised,
especially for all newly added scripts.
Particular issues to take note of include:
- There was a significant update in the fonts used for many CJK auxiliary blocks,
to improve the design and consistency of glyphs. Details of the affected ranges
of glyphs can be found in the Glyph and Variation Sequence Changes table
on the
single block delta charts page.
- There have also been systematic updates to many glyphs in the
Egyptian Hieroglyphs
block, to more accurately reflect current practice.
Collation-related Issues
The Default Unicode Collation Element Table (DUCET) was updated to the Unicode 14.0.0
repertoire for UCA 14.0. For the most part, the additions for new scripts and other
characters are unremarkable, but implementations should be checked to ensure
the new additions do not cause problems.
Other Issues
Please also check the following specific items carefully:
- 37 new emoji characters have been added. However, in addition
to those individual characters, many new emoji sequences have been
recognized, as well. If your implementation supports emoji,
be sure to carefully review
UTS #51, Unicode Emoji
(PRI #430).
WARNING: There are changes to the ends of three existing
CJK unified ideograph ranges in Unicode 14.0.0. Because implementations often hard-code
ideographic ranges to short-cut lookups and reduce table sizes, it is
especially important that implementers pay close attention to the
implications of range changes for Version 14.0.0. These extensions bump up the end
ranges of the encoded ideographs by a few code points within each block:
- 3 code points for the URO:
ending at U+9FFF [fills the block]
- 2 code points for Extension B: ending at U+2A6DF [fills the block]
- 4 code points for Extension C: ending at U+2B738
See Section 4.4,
Listing of Characters Covered by the Unihan Database
in UAX #38
for the version history of all these small CJK unified ideograph additions
inside existing blocks.
The following blocks are new in Unicode 14.0.0. Check implementations
carefully for any range or property value assumptions regarding
these new blocks. See also the single-block delta charts.
| Range |
Block Name |
| 0870..089F |
Arabic Extended-B |
| 10570..105BF |
Vithkuqi |
| 10780..107BF |
Latin Extended-F |
| 10F70..10FAF |
Old Uyghur |
| 11AB0..11ABF |
Unified Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics Extended-A |
| 12F90..12FFF |
Cypro-Minoan |
| 16A70..16ACF |
Tangsa |
| 1AFF0..1AFFF |
Kana Extended-B |
| 1CF00..1CFCF |
Znamenny Musical Notation |
| 1DF00..1DFFF |
Latin Extended-G |
| 1E290..1E2BF |
Toto |
| 1E7E0..1E7FF |
Ethiopic Extended-B |
In addition to the new blocks, two existing blocks had slight adjustments to their
end ranges. The Ahom block range was extended by one column to end at U+1174F,
instead of U+1173F. And the block range for the Tangut Supplement block was
changed to end at U+18D7F, corrected from the erroneous value of U+18D8F published in Unicode 13.0.
Implementations should be checked carefully for any hard-coded assumptions about
the end ranges of existing blocks.
Some blocks have also had font updates; see the
single-block delta charts for details.
In such cases, careful review of the blocks in question
is advised, to ensure that there have not been any
regressions in representative glyph display.
General Issues
For current proposed updates to the particular UAXes, see
Proposed Updates for Standard Annexes
or use the links in the navigation bar on this page.
Particular issues in the UAXes may also be the focus of specific
Public Review Issues.
Each proposed textual change in a UAX is highlighted, so that you can focus
your review on those sections if you have limited time. The changes
are also listed in detail in the Modifications sections (linked from the table
of contents of each document), and are summarized in
UAX changes,
so you can check on those areas that might be of most
interest.
Some links between beta documents and the proposed
updates for UAXes will not work correctly during the
beta review period. This is a known problem which does
not need to be reported, as such links point to
the eventual final names or revision numbers for the
released versions.
Stability
Certain character properties for newly assigned characters cannot be
changed after the formal release of each version of the standard, because of the
Character Encoding Stability Policy.
Such character property values need special attention during the beta review process, as they
cannot be corrected after publication. These include:
- Any property affecting Unicode Normalization, including Decomposition_Mapping, Canonical_Combining_Class, and Composition_Exclusion.
- The determination of whether a character is included in identifiers (XID_Start, XID_Continue).
- Case mappings and case foldings.
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