I am please to announce that I have added some more documents on 1456 object code to http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo which is our family webspace. Ten new 1456 object code instructions and two new 1456 applet landscapes are introduced. An updated 1456 engine file, Engine1456.class, is made available for free download. Of potentially particular interest to people interested in unicode is the applet that is included in the file http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/demo7.htm in that webspace. A java enabled web browser is needed. The applet allows text in both the English and Esperanto languages to be entered onto the screen using mouse clicks on keyboard-like keys that are drawn on the screen. I call the keyboard-like layout that is produced a softboard toolbar. I have used Esperanto for the example as I am interested in Esperanto and know a little about it. However, the technique is general and by making a copy of the program and altering the unicode characters that are used, a keyboard using whatever keys for which one has font support both available and accessible by the applet can be used. If you are making a copy for experimental purposes, please visit the page http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~ngo/14561600.htm in the webspace as you will need copies of the Softboard1456.class and Engine1456.class files as well and links are provided on that page. I know that the system will work for characters from the Greek alphabet as I have a program completed yesterday which I am hoping to write up and include on the webspace where one can switch between two such softboard toolbars. That is, one starts with a softboard toolbar that has the characters for English and Esperanto and can switch, by clicking near the top left corner of the background area of the applet, to a softboard toolbar that has Greek characters. The resulting display can include characters obtained from both softboard toolbars. At start up the screen display looks exactly like the display from the demo7.htm file. A different 1456 applet landscape is used to support this process which uses two 1456 engines, one for each of the two softboard toolbars. I am wondering quite how one can get characters from an Indian language font to display on an applet as the characters are not included in the Arial font that I am using. William Overington 6 October 2000
