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Abstract

Leaks in the Unicode Pipeline: Script, Script, Script...

Michael Everson - Everson Typography

Intended Audience: Managers, Software Engineers, Systems Analysts, Marketers, Content Developers, Font Developers, Graphic Designers, Technical Writers
Session Level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced

Some 52 scripts are currently allocated in the Unicode Standard. This reflects an enormous amount of work on the part of a great many people. An examination of the Roadmap shows, however, that there are at present no less than 92 scripts yet to be encoded! These scripts range from large, complex and famous dead scripts like Egyptian hieroglyphs, to small, little-known but simple scripts like Old Permic. But, importantly, about a third of the scripts are living scripts which are intended to go on the BMP. Over the past few years, some implementers and standardizers alike have expressed their concern about how much work remains to be done. "When will the standard be finished?" they have asked. This talk will give a brief overview of the history of Unicode allocations, and discuss the standardization process required for newly-allocated scripts, including discussion of the kinds of procedural, political, and implementation issues which are met with in trying to get a script standardized. The different types of scripts remaining to be encoded will be discussed with regard to the ease with which they can be both encoded and implemented. Finally, a proposal for the way forward will be given.


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18 March 2002, Webmaster