On [Aug 7], at [ Aug 7] 3:25 , Glenn Jones wrote:
Last but not least you have also just walked into the internalisation
issue from the "Human and machine readable data format" debate. Not
all
languages use the Arabic numerals ie 0,1,2, 3 etc
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_numerals
Although most people will understand Arabic numerals and you find them
mixed in with languages like Chinese, it's still an issue that need
thought.
I strongly disagree here. I think you'd have a hard time finding a
single person in either Japan or China who both understands what a
computer is (i.e. not counting extreme rural isolation) and is not
very familiar with Arabic numerals. You can't buy a computer in
either country without using either cash or credit cards covered in
Arabic numerals. It's very likely you're also scanning a bar code
with Arabic numerals and/or getting a receipt with Arabic numerals.
Your clock, television, vehicle, phone, and ID card all use Arabic
numerals. And when you turn your computer on, you'll see many more
Arabic numerals (e.g. in the version number of your operating
system). So I'd say a person looking at using microformats but
unfamiliar with Arabic numerals goes well beyond an edge case.
--
Scott Reynen
MakeDataMakeSense.com
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