Re: Unicode-32 = Godot?

From: Timothy Huang (timd_huang@mail.formac.com.tw)
Date: Wed Aug 21 1996 - 00:37:08 EDT


Hello, Kenneth,

Thanks for the clarifications. I did not said that Unicode consorsium is
a hardware company. But I was wondering how many of its member companies
are using Unicode now in their computer system. The consorsium as I know
of consists of many gaint computer companies. These companies certainly
have the capability to use the standard they promote first. [Note: I did
not say they did not, just wonder how many?] However, from end-user
point of view, it takes too long to see only a few product available.

Perhaps I am wrong, but sometimes the hardware also is a factor to
consider in the usage of a standard. For example, in the communication
hardware, some of them only allow 7 bits to pass thru. When I submitted
my Chinese articles to my publisher, they got a bunch of garbages -- the
8th bit was clipped.
 
I am fully aware of the (long) time it takes for any standard. The
making of standard will take a very long time, if international, it will
take even longer. Then, it's up to the vendors to implement that. Then,
finally the end-user will see that. Except for mainland China, any
national or internantional standard does not have the power to force
someone to use it. During this long process, too many variables are
involved. Blaming or relying on any single stage are unfair. However,
what I did (you described it as tossing grenades) was an attempt to
express the feeling from an end-user and hope that someone out there
will think about this.

In your reply, you used the MINE and RFC. This bring up another good
point. What are they? From an end-user's point of view, I (or we) don't
know. Can the computer people use the plain English so that an average
person can have an easier time to understand the already complicate
computer matter? Chuck Moore, inventor of FORTH computer language, said
that abbreviations and hyphenated words are signs of unclear minds. They
represent the issues were not well thought out. From my personal
experience and opinion, computer abbreviations are one of the major
hurdles preventing computer to reach more people. Please consider the
situation in a non-English country. Computer users here have to overcome
several layers of difficulties -- first the English, then the
abbreviations, then the meaning, then the computer, etc. If we can
minimize even a small one of them, we are helping.

As for my suggestion of open discussion of the Unicode standard on
internet, Unicode consorsium can take any stand they want. Many
standards, national or even international, were done by a relatively
small group of people, anyhow. They did their best and decided the
standard for the "rest of us". After all, it's just a sincere small
suggestion for everybody to think about. Is this suggestion a "grenade"
too? I think the more people know from the very beginning the better,
and the resistance later will be much less. Well, you may think this is
another grenade. Should I sing "Praise the Load Unicode" from now on?

Smiles,
Timothy Huang
Just an end-user



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