Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator (MSKLC) Version 1.3.407 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=FB7B3DCD-D4C1-4 943-9C74-D8DF57EF19D7&displaylang=en
-----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Mike Powell Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:41 PM To: Programming forum Subject: Re: [Jprogramming] Italic Fonts? Roger, Thanks for correcting my typo. On 1-Jun-09, at 2:51 PM, Roger Hui wrote: > The 7 bit-ASCII alphabet makes it easy to support > - entering J on standard keyboards > - printing J on standard printers > - editing J on standard text editors > - sending J code in e-mail > > Until the day comes when the above can be done > with Unicode, not just for existing APL characters > but for APL characters yet to be invented, (e.g. see > http://www.jsoftware.com/papers/opfns.htm ) > I wish to avoid yet another enervating debate > about special characters. You're right that there are still challenges to be met before we can use special characters with J. Most noticeably, suitable keyboard layouts. However, there is progress in this regard. Dyalog APL, for example, comes with Unicode keyboard layouts and the documentation alludes to a Microsoft tool for rolling your own keyboard. Why not allow J users to use Unicode names? The J language can keep the reserved names it uses now. Just let the users experiment. Surely, if they make use of this and run into problems transferring code or commentary back and forth, that's their look out; not something that J Software Inc has to address. After all, Unicode data is being transferred back and forth all the time in other contexts. The issues are not special to J. Perhaps, by letting the users experiment with different skins, something interesting and useful will emerge. Mike Powell ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
