Arabic Tutorial
Thomas Milo, Director, DecoType, The Netherlands
The new tutorial is completely redesigned to provide a global conceptual framework, while at the same time serving as an introduction for the uninitiated. Yet it should contain sufficient new information to keep the experienced hands awake as well.
The precise contents and focus of this tutorial can be adjusted to provide a general background for specific technical talks later in the conference.
1. INTRODUCTION
a. Conventional presentation of Arabic script
b. Pro's and con's
2 ARCHIGRAPHEMES
a. Ambiguous letters
b. Ambiguous space characters
3. GRAPHEMES
a. More than one code for a grapheme
b. More than one grapheme for a code
4. ALLOGRAPHS AND LIGATURES
a. Minimal support for graphic assimilation
b. Alternatives for full support
5. WRITING ARABIC
a. Horizontal and vertical connections
b. Ambiguity in character ordering
6. THE CALLIGRAPHIC DIMENSION
a. Decoration
b. Text transmission
7. RENDERING ARABIC SCRIPT
a. The subjective approach: font technology
b. The objective approach: Script analysis & synthesis
8. TRANSCRIPTION
a. National bias
b. Lack of consistency and irreversibility
9. REVERSIBLE TRANSCRIPTION
a. Standard orthography
b. Alternative orthography - Qur'nic orthography
10. TRANSLITERATION
a. Rendering ambiguity
b. Handling script layers
11. ENCODING ARABIC PROPER
a. What to encode; code page legacy
b. Unresolved issues; compatibility
12. ENCODING ARABIC-SCRIPT LANGUAGES
a. What to encode; code page legacy
b. Unresolved issues; compatibility ÀÜ conversion issues
13. SORTING ARABIC
a. Modern methods
b. Historical methods
14. BASIC LAY-OUT
a. Running text from right to left
b. Bi-directionality
15. BILINGUAL PUBLISHING
a. Parallel texts
b. Size calibration of Latin and Arabic
16. USER SCENARIOS
a. Home
b. Business
c. Government
d. Internet (who determines rendering quality: host or client?)
e. Science (unusual characters)
f. Arts (scholarly publishing, historical accuracy in spelling)
g. Design