Re: European Arabic xkb Keyboard Layout

[Oibane <pflm52td at w6 dot dion dot ne dot jp>]

Hello, there.

Youssef Chahibi wrote:

> ... It may also be usefull to add the zero space 
> special characters http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFE70.pdf, it may be 
> usefull for abreviations instead of big spaces or dots.

Thank you, Youssef, for your comment.

Youssef probably means U+FEFF "Zero width no-breaking space" (ZWNBSP). I
didn't know this character, but I've come to share his view.

Now, let us review what it is.

The Unicode 4.0.0 says U+2060 "Word joiner" (WJ) is more preferable
than U+FEFF[1]. 

These two have non-joining bidi property[2], so works like U+200C "Zero
width non-joiner", separating adjacent letters, but prohibits line
breaking. They are suitable for abbreviations.


It is my personal complaint. What I do not like in Unicode is , 
well, it is better written in the footnote[3]. 

Regards.

"Oibane"

[1]
Table of letters:
http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFE70.pdf
Unicode Standard Annexes #14:
http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr14/index.html
discusses line breaking properties in most general manner, thus too
technically for daily usage.

[2]
Page 199 of chapter 8, "Middle eastern scripts":
http://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode4.0.0/ch08.pdf

[3]
What I do not like, because I consider
them to be allowing rooms for misunderstanding and diffculty of
handling, are invisible "control" (this word may not be exact
technically) characters in Unicode. They are not particularly related
to Arabic scripts, though.

How should they be treated in editors? Should both WYSIWIG and logical
display are supported? Why do they have to come into Unicode, while
there're XML and XSL today? Documents are scattered and intended for
developers, so how can usual plain users understand them? Once you
learn the definition, how can you tell it to others avoiding misleading?
They are really difficult and confusing. It is days of digital
literacy now, so you have to learn subtlety of Unicode for each
language you aquire. Blah, blah, blah.

I know it can't be helped instantly. No one can come up with the
cure-all. Only deep testing in our real life has the possibility to
indicate the better way. Phew!