Re: tlug: A couple of questions about Unicode

[Taro Yamamoto <tyamamot@example.com>]

Jon Babcock wrote:
>     >> that there is a Japanese book out about how bad unicode is for
>     >> the Japanese.  Evidently, it was a best seller in Japan.
> 
> First, does anyone have the title or any bibliographic info on this
> book?

I found the following book at a book shop today:

Title: $B$$$^F|K\8l$,4m$J$$!=J8;z%3!<%I$N8m$C$?9q:]2=(J
Author: $BB@example.com!!>;9'(J
Publisher: $B4];33X7]?^=q(J
ISBN: 4895421465

> computers. Unicode made a gallant attempt to reconcile these opposing
> forces, but the result is a compromise, albeit a rather practical one,
> IMO.

I agree.

> to the status of a prototype, an abstract class. Moreover, on the
> other hand, due to inherent limitations of the existing source
> character sets, Unicode provides *no prototype at all for most of the
> glyphs represented in the traditional repertories*, such as the Kangxi
> Dictionary, or in more up-to-date versions of those, such as the large
> Morohashi kanwa dictionary. It could be argued that Unicode should

Yes. I remember the TAKA variant glyph I mentioned is assigned another
code point in Unicode (I hope my memory is correct), while the JIS X
0208 unified the glyph to the prototypic JOYO kanji. Contradictions and
problems in source character sets tend to be preserved and further
amplified when they are merged into one. In the sense, I understand a
few leaders in the field of character set standardisation in Japan have
correctly pointed out such problems and confusions (or dirty codes) in
existing or proposed character sets, typically Unicode.
  On the other hand, I am skeptical about the possibility of defining a
contradiction-free character set, however good and rational its
unification and categorization method is (one such successful example is
the editing of JIS X 0208:1997), because the reality of kanji (its
history and its usages in society) looks to be more complicated and
self-contradicting than one industry standard can successfully trace.
Even the only fact that we had to separate prototypic "characters" from
their "representation" instances, however reasonable and purposeful it
was, implies possible self-contradictory nature of the concept of
"character set" in computing, since they should inherently inseparable.
  In the sense, I feel compromise always has realistic reasons, however
problematic it is.

Regards,

Taro Yamamoto
(tyamamot@example.com)
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