Re: [Freetype] how does freetype handle combining character for unicode

[Vadim Plessky]

On Thursday 19 September 2002 12:28 am, Ziying Sherwin wrote:
|  Thanks for the response to my email. Here are some reasons why we are
| looking for the normalization capabilities in freetype fonts:
|
|  1. Our application have a java applet-based unicode keyboard, which takes
| the key input and convert it into unicode in different languages. The
| layout of the keyboards are based on what the keyboards look like in
| different countries. It is inevitable that combining character sequence
| will be used. Because the application is an applet, building normalization
| into the keyboard application itself would bloat the code and impact the
| efficiency.

Well, I think I have an answer *why* such library ("to take key input and 
convert it into unicode in different languages", for languages different from 
Latin/Cyrillic/Greek, I guess) doesn't exist (for Java)
Most people on Open-Source community gave up on Java, as:
1) Java is not *free*
2) Java (if we understand under Java "Java Runtime Environment) is very heavy 
and bloated.

So, if you need library which exactly fits into your requirements - I am 
afraid you have to write it on your own.
If you can abandon your requirement to use Java - you can pickup Qt3 library 
from TrollTech (www.trolltech.com), or Pango (www.pango.org)

|
|  2. The combination of character sequence is defined in Unicode standard.
| If Freetype library handles unicode, it should be able to handle the
| normalization or at least provide the option for user to use the
| normalization function. In any case, it does not make sense to display a
| combining diacritics alone as a character in the respect of rendering
| proper glyphs.

Freetype's task is to render glyph, taken from font in different formats, and 
render it at required size. And it does this task fine. I would say much 
better than either Microsoft or Apple or Adobe.
May be, some people would not agree with this statement, but that's my 
opinion, and I stand behind it. :-)

|
|  If freetype library does not provide the normalization for unicode yet, do
|  you know any toolkit or library which have this functionalities? We are
|  checking ICU as a workaround, but it would be nice to try something
| smaller.

Sun Microsystems is developing something.
May be, you should wait next major Java release, if you are restricted to 
Java-based solution.

|
|  Many thanks for the help.
|
|  Ziying Sherwin
|
|  On Wed, 18 Sep 2002, Vadim Plessky wrote:
|  > On Tuesday 17 September 2002 8:00 pm, Ziying Sherwin wrote:

Cheers,
-- 

Vadim Plessky
http://kde2.newmail.ru  (English)
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