Re: Charset request for iconv (patch included)

[dcoffin at shell dot cybercom dot net]

     OK then, let's use the math-sigma.  Can the
Unicode-->HP-48 conversion be set to accept either?

     I still don't fully understand why Unicode has
accented letters when zero-width combining marks are
available.  Best I can figure is that it allows C code
to treat each letter as an integer instead of a string
of indeterminate length.

     Having an "x with macron" character would also
mean that when "x" appears in Unicode text, iconv can
write "x" to the HP-48 text without first checking to
see if the next character is a macron.  But there's
obviously a reason why you implemented charsets with
DLLs instead of simple tables -- was it not to handle
special cases like this?

     How much power do you guys have to add new
characters to the Unicode standard?

				Dave Coffin  10/2/2016

On Sun, Oct 02, 2016 at 10:00:08AM +0200, Florian Weimer wrote:
> * Andreas Schwab:
> 
> > On Okt 02 2016, dcoffin@shell.cybercom.net wrote:
> >
> >>      I don't believe there is an official mapping.  The author
> >> mentions two other mappings and how they differ from his.  He
> >> also explains why he chose Greek letters over mathematical
> >> symbols.  (Your Greek sigma looks correct in my editor while
> >> the math sigma looks like "???", so I can guess which is more
> >> widely supported.)
> 
> Considering that the uppercase Greek sigma is next to an integral
> sign, I'm prety sure that its intended meaning is the mathematic
> operator.  It's also how it is used in the HP-48 user interface.  (I
> once had one myself.)
> 
> > Just because some broken programs cannot display the characters should
> > not be a reason to use a wrong mapping.
> 
> Right.  And I would say the same applies to intentionally using a
> wrong mapping.  “x̄” would have to be added to the Unicode to standard
> to enable compatibility with the HP-48 character set.
> 
> Would we accept the mapping in case these issues were addressed?  I
> still don't think so.