Re: vertical direction control

From: Peter Kirk (peterkirk@qaya.org)
Date: Wed Mar 24 2004 - 16:41:37 EST

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    On 24/03/2004 12:31, Kenneth Whistler wrote:

    >>[1] http://www.bsblind.co.uk/full/moon/typeindx.htm
    >>
    >>
    >
    >Is Moon Type in actual use, or just a historical curiosity? William
    >Moon was a 19th century figure.
    >
    >
    >
    The last section of "Moon, Matches and Microchips", accessible from
    http://www.bsblind.co.uk/full/moon/index.htm, implies that Moon script
    was in use in 1988. The following, from the recently updated
    http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_factlist.hcsp,
    suggests that it is still in use:

    > RNIB can help you put your information into the format you require. A
    > number of factsheets on braille, Moon, large print and other media are
    > available free of charge from RNIB Customer Services, PO Box 173,
    > Peterborough, PE2 6WS, telephone 0845 702 3153.

    See also
    http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_aboutbm.hcsp.
    And there is a long (and recent) discussion about whether Moon might be
    more suitable than Braille in
    http://www.rnib.org.uk/xpedio/groups/public/documents/publicwebsite/public_rnib003514.doc,
    section 4.7.1.

    So Moon is not just a historical curiosity. The only reason for it not
    being suitable for Unicode, and the BMP, is the argument that it is a
    cipher of Latin. But it has different layout characteristics as well as
    its abbreviations and contractions. And surely Braille could equally be
    considered a cipher of Latin script (although the same symbols are also
    used as a cipher of other scripts).

    -- 
    Peter Kirk
    peter@qaya.org (personal)
    peterkirk@qaya.org (work)
    http://www.qaya.org/
    


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