Could someone please explain why the data tables for ISO 15924 list both
"codes" and "ID"s? ("ID"s are not discussed in the text of the
standard.)
The Registration Authority (The Unicode Consortium) requested it be added to that tables. Perhaps additional wording is needed somewhere to explain it. I would welcome specific suggestions and wording.
I find the inclusion of both under these labels somewhat less than ideal. The term "code" is not consistently used. Most people do use "code" to refer to a symbol (such as an alpha-4 string) that denotes some entity or category; and some standards also use the term in that way. But other standards use "code" to refer to a collection of such symbols. For instance, ISO 639-1 clearly treats "code" as the collection, and calls the individual entries "code elements"; the alpha-2 symbols in ISO 639-1 are "identifiers".
There is no solving the problem of the use of "code" in the TC37 and TC46 standards. That is an old, old argument.
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Michael Everson * * Everson Typography * * http://www.evertype.com
