Re: Malayalam Zero - an error

From: Dean Snyder (dean.snyder@jhu.edu)
Date: Thu Apr 07 2005 - 18:02:35 CST

  • Next message: Dean Snyder: "Re: Malayalam Zero - an error"

    John Hudson wrote at 2:45 PM on Thursday, April 7, 2005:

    >I read Philippe's suggestion as changing the Malayalam zero character to
    >a 1/2 character, and then re-encoding the zero character, i.e. not
    >simply changing the existing zero glyph.

    Huh?

    This is how Philippe sums up, after addressing one scenario involving
    possible ISCII legacy issues:

    "So your comment rather suggests the addition of U+0D70 MALAYALAM DIGIT
    ONE HALF... with the glyph currently shown for MALAYALAM DIGIT ZERO, this
    glyph being corrected on the chart (this
    would minimize the impact because no other character properties would
    need to be changed)..."

    >Ken's response was that receiving one e-mail from one person claiming an
    >error in something that has been reviewed by Indian standards bodies, a
    >native Malayalam speaker on the UTC, etc. was not grounds for changing
    >anything.

    But all those observations are obvious before Ken wrote them. What was
    striking about Ken's remarks, and what I addressed in my response, was
    that he ended by saying, "I consider the chances that the UTC will start
    'fixing' Malayalam digit zero ALONG THE LINES that Philippe has suggested
    to be, well, close to zero." [Emphasis added to show that Ken was talking
    about the WAY the UTC would not fix this, and not that they wouldn't fix
    it, although he made the case that he didn't think it needed fixing.]
    But, as it turns out, if the UTC did need to fix this, it might be
    precisely along the lines Philippe suggested - change the current zero
    glyph, add a new 1/2 glyph.

    >And if anything were to be changed, it would be a simple glyph change in
    the charts and not a convoluted and unstable change of character codes,
    which is what Philippe seemed to be suggesting, unless both Ken and I
    read his message wrong.

    I don't know the reasons, but if you are characterizing Philippe's
    suggestion thusly, you are both wrong.

    >As for Ken's use of the phrase 'next to zero', that seemed very obviously
    >a joke based on the topic under discussion.

    Of course. But I refrained, in my initial response, from calling this the
    rude, smug, and cutesy brush off it is.

    Respectfully,

    Dean A. Snyder

    Assistant Research Scholar
    Manager, Digital Hammurabi Project
    Computer Science Department
    Whiting School of Engineering
    218C New Engineering Building
    3400 North Charles Street
    Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, Maryland, USA 21218

    office: 410 516-6850
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