L2/01-397 Title: Comments on WG2 N2395: draft code charts for PDAM 2 to 10646-1:2000 Source: Ken Whistler Date: October 24, 2001 1. Miscellaneous symbols: 23CF, 23D0, 2614, 2615, 2618 The proposed: 23CF WHITE UP-POINTING TRIANGLE WITH CAUTION MARK 23D0 HIGH VOLTAGE CAUTION MARK are not technical symbols, but caution signs (for maps and such) from the DPRK standard. They should be renamed and be moved into the 26XX Miscellaneous Symbols block along with the other caution signs. I suggest: 2615 TRIANGULAR CAUTION SIGN 2618 HIGH VOLTAGE CAUTION SIGN The proposed: 2614 SHOWER WEATHER clearly contrasts with 2602 UMBRELLA in the DPRK standard (to distinguish rainy weather and showery weather, apparently). The character should be named to make it clear that the two are a pair and intended to contrast. I suggest: 2614 UMBRELLA WITH RAINDROPS and the "shower(y) weather" should be part of annotations. The proposed: 2615 TEA SYMBOL is *not* actually a symbol of tea, although named as such in its DPRK source. It is a generic symbol for beverages, as used in train, plane, and other transportation schedules and the like. It should be renamed to BEVERAGE SYMBOL. Furthermore, if we are going to be adding this, the UTC should ask that its sister symbol, the crossed knife and fork, be added as a pair, named MEAL SYMBOL. I suggest: 2692 BEVERAGE SYMBOL 2693 MEAL SYMBOL The proposed: 2618 CIRCLED UPWARD INDICATION should be renamed. While its location is o.k., I have suggested that one of the two caution signs be moved here, to be in proximity with the other caution signs at 2620..2623. So I suggest: 2694 CIRCLED WHITE UP POINTING INDEX This connects the name to 261D and should make it clear that the exact shape and handedness of the index inside the circle is *not* part of the significant meaning of the character. 2. Ecological Symbols The proposed: 267E DO NOT LITTER SIGN 267F RECYCLABLE PACKAGING (Green Dot) were *not* approved for encoding by the UTC. I suggest that they be removed from the PDAM. 3. Scissors Dingbat The proposed: 2700 LEFTWARDS SCISSORS should be renamed: 2700 NORTH WEST POINTING BLACK SCISSORS The proposed location is debatable. It is certainly the best from the point of view of its proximity to the other dingbat scissors. However, it would represent the first addition of a non-ITC-Zapf dingbat in this block. That gives us a documentation problem. So I would like the UTC to consider whether moving the character into the Miscellaneous Symbols block would not be preferable. 4. Supplemental Arrows-C The right thing to do here, for a set of 14 more arrows is to add these at 27C0..27CF (as a new block), in the vicinity of 27F0..27FF Supplemental Arrows-A, rather than allocating 3 more rows in the so far unallocated 2BXX area. 5. Supplemental CJK Compatibility -- Fractions First of all, these 5 fractions should *not* be encoded at all. Even if the DPRK standard has a distinction between the vulgar forms with slashes and the vulgar forms with horizontal bars, the Unicode Standard has maintained for 11 years now that the two forms of fractions are glyphic alternates of each other. We have been caving for years on the addition of trashy glyphic alternates from Asian standards, but this particular addition is just ridiculous. Even for round-trip mapping to the DPRK standard, there are already alternatives: <--> U+2153 <--> Since this isn't a canonical equivalence, it can be used to maintain the formatting distinction, and to maintain accurate roundtrip conversions. And *even if* you all think I'm batty, and that it is a great idea to encode five more duplicate characters for vulgar fraction glyphs, the obvious place to put them is in the 2150..218F Number Forms block, rather than in virgin territory. Other than that, while it might be easier to assign 31C0..31EF as "Supplemental CJK Compatibility" now, and just fill it with whatever, given that "CJK Compatibility" means this squared letter symbol c**p, I would suggest keeping the block allocation down to a single row: 31C0..31CF, to discourage more such entries in the future. The remaining space 31D0..31EF I would prefer to remain undesignated at the moment, as additional CJK punctuation and/or Katakana extensions are more likely and *worthy* candidates for the space. 6. Vertical brackets The proposed: FE47 PRESENTATION FORM FOR VERTICAL LEFT SQUARE BRACKET FE48 PRESENTATION FORM FOR VERTICAL RIGHT SQUARE BRACKET are clearly duplications of the already encoded: 23B4 TOP SQUARE BRACKET 23B5 BOTTOM SQUARE BRACKET They should be removed from the PDAM. EoD 3