> - Code Page nnnn is not ISO 2022 compliant.
> Alt and KOI-8 are not ISO 2022 either.
> And Unicode does not follow ISO 2022 either.
> We'll need something more general than ISO 2022 in any case.
This is exactly what I was saying for years (actually it's exactly part
of what I was saying for years) -- the multiple languages/charsets
support, both in serialized form (charsets switching, labeling of chunks
of text) and internal representation (language/charset-labeled strings)
should be implemented in such way that multiple languages support will be
possible in some natural way. It should be possible to place at least some
generic language-dependent code (input, sorting, phonetic matching,
hyphenation/formatting...) into libraries, and load versions for different
languages/charsets when text in such languages/charsets is processed. This
can become a real, useful languages support framework, and it's a shame
that there is still no such thing now, and people can only face a choice
between bad internationalization support and even worse one.
Indeed, we need a better standard, but that standard should not
originate from the needs of kernel driver for text console -- it should be
targeted to real application development, and once that thing will be
done, it will be possible to modify console drivers, xterm, etc. to fit
it. Right now it probably will be better to leave poor console alone, and
do something to make some reasonable language/charsets labeling/processing
design. Once that is done, implement it in things where the addition of it
will be the least painful -- X libraries, editors, etc. If it will
succeed, make console driver that will be compatible with it -- and I
believe, such console will be much more simple and clean than whatever can
be done now, when standards are messy, and ideas in their base are either
no longer valid, or unclear.
Despite loudly proclaimed victory of Unicode over everything that speaks
and writes, it's not yet too late to make a better alternative. If it will
be done, we will have a chance to have a framework that allows clean
handling of multiple languages and charsets in a manner that will allow
to respect those languages and their rules without resorting to messy
bloat of application-specific language handling everywhere.
-- Alex---------------------------------------------------------------------- Excellent.. now give users the option to cut your hair you hippie! -- Anonymous Coward
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