[comp.fonts] character encodings

bobtl@toolbox.WV.TEK.COM (01/12/90)

This isn't the type of message usually discussed here, my apologies if
this is inappropriate.

I am trying to learn if there are standard encodings for non-ascii characters.
Ascii itself is a defacto standard, and I think there is actually a standard
(ISO Latin-1 ??) which formalizes it.

So what about other symbols I want to draw.  Say the copyright c in a circle
symbol, or the TM trademark symbol.  Is there an standard index value that
is the same for all fonts which adhere to a standard?  I don't care if it is
a formal standard or one that everyone just seems to follow.

Thanx,
Bob Toole

henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) (01/13/90)

In article <5831@orca.wv.tek.com> bobtl@toolbox.WV.TEK.COM () writes:
>I am trying to learn if there are standard encodings for non-ascii characters.
>Ascii itself is a defacto standard, and I think there is actually a standard
>(ISO Latin-1 ??) which formalizes it.

ASCII is a formal standard; the "AS" part is "American Standard".  It is
the US instantiation of a slightly more general ISO standard whose number
I forget.  ISO Latin 1, in turn, is a heavily extended ASCII which adds
enough characters to cover almost all Western European languages, plus
some other useful odds and ends.

>So what about other symbols I want to draw.  Say the copyright c in a circle
>symbol, or the TM trademark symbol.  Is there an standard index value that
>is the same for all fonts which adhere to a standard?  ...

Not that I'm aware of.
-- 
1972: Saturn V #15 flight-ready|     Henry Spencer at U of Toronto Zoology
1990: birds nesting in engines | uunet!attcan!utzoo!henry henry@zoo.toronto.edu

bts@sas.UUCP (Brian T. Schellenberger) (01/15/90)

|>So what about other symbols I want to draw.  Say the copyright c in a circle
|>symbol, or the TM trademark symbol.  Is there an standard index value that
|>is the same for all fonts which adhere to a standard?  ...

Well, I don't know how many characters it encompasses, but I was quite 
surprised to discover while transferring files that the ManIntosh and
Amiga use the same code for the copyright circle-c; you might try obtaining
copies of the standard IBM, MacIntosh, and Amiga encodings and then finding
all the intersections.  If you do this, *PLEASE POST* the results!
-- 
-- Brian, the Man from Babble-on.		...!mcnc!rti!sas!bts
-- (Brian Schellenberger)
"No one will ever write a song called 'Nitro Burning Funny Cars'"
                 -- THE DEAD MILKMEN, "Nitro Burning Funny Cars"

frisk@rhi.hi.is (Fridrik Skulason) (01/16/90)

In article <1990Jan12.165104.680@utzoo.uucp> henry@utzoo.uucp (Henry Spencer) writes:

>ASCII is a formal standard; the "AS" part is "American Standard".  It is
>the US instantiation of a slightly more general ISO standard whose number
>I forget.  ISO Latin 1, in turn, is a heavily extended ASCII which adds
>enough characters to cover almost all Western European languages, plus
>some other useful odds and ends.

It must also be noted that the bottom half of ISO Latin-1 (ISO 8859/1),
(characters 00-7F) is identical to ASCII. The various ISO 8859/x standards
include additional characters to cover

	* Western Europe (well, almost all of it)
	* Nothern Europe (not Iceland though)
	* Parts of eastern Europe (cyrillic)
	* Greece
	etc.

>>So what about other symbols I want to draw.  Say the copyright c in a circle
>>symbol, or the TM trademark symbol.  Is there an standard index value that
>>is the same for all fonts which adhere to a standard?  ...

Well - it depends on which standard you use..... :-)

In ISO 8859/1, the copyright symbol is A9 (hex) but TM does not exist.


-- 
         Fridrik Skulason          University of Iceland
         frisk@rhi.hi.is           Computing Services

          Guvf yvar vagragvbanyyl yrsg oynax .................