Proposed Draft UTR #53, Unicode Arabic Mark Ordering Algorithm Now Available for Public Review

The Unicode Consortium has released Proposed Draft Unicode Technical Report #53, Unicode Arabic Mark Ordering Algorithm. This UTR describes an algorithm for determining correct rendering of Arabic combining mark sequences.

The combining classes of Arabic combining characters in Unicode are a mixture of special classes for specific marks plus two more generalized classes for all the other marks. For many years this has resulted in inconsistent rendering for sequences with multiple combining marks such as:

The algorithm described in this UTR provides a method to reorder Arabic combining marks in order to accomplish the following goals:

• The inside-out rendering rule will display combining marks in the expected visual order.
• Ensure identical display of canonically equivalent sequences.
• Provide a mechanism for overriding the display order in exceptional cases.

The document is in “Proposed Draft” state, and made available for public review and comment. Information about this type of document can be found on the About Unicode Technical Reports page.

For information about how to discuss this Public Review Issue and how to supply formal feedback, please see the PRI #359 page.

Unicode CLDR 32α available for testing

The alpha version of Unicode CLDR 32 is available for testing. The alpha period lasts until the beta release on September 27, which will include updates to the LDML spec. The final release is expected on October 19.

CLDR 32 provides an update to the key building blocks for software supporting the world's languages. This data is used by all major software systems for their software internationalization and localization, adapting software to the conventions of different languages for such common software tasks.

CLDR 32 included a Survey Tool data collection phase, with a resulting significant increase in data size, especially for emoji names/annotations and geographic subdivision names. Other enhancements include rule-based number formats for additional languages, a new “disjunctive” list style (a, b, or c), and fixes for Chinese collation and transliteration. The draft release page at http://cldr.unicode.org/index/downloads/cldr-32 lists the major features, and has pointers to the newest data and charts. It will be fleshed out over the coming weeks with more details, migration issues, known problems, and so on. Particularly useful for review are:

• Delta Charts - the data that changed during the release
• By-Type Charts - a side-by-side comparison of data from different locales
  
• Annotation Charts - new emoji names and keywords
• Territory Subdivisions
  

Please report any problems that you find using a CLDR ticket. We'd also appreciate it if programmatic users of CLDR data download the xml files and do a trial integration to see if any problems arise.

New Emoji Subcommittee Vice-Chairs

The Emoji Subcommittee (ESC) is on the front lines of Unicode emoji. It is responsible for accepting requests for new emoji and emoji sequences, helping requesters to fill out missing areas in their proposals, and providing prioritized recommendations to the Unicode Technical Committee.

Peter Edberg is stepping down as the co-chair of ESC, a role he has filled since its inception. He is one of the key people involved in Unicode emoji since the very beginning, so we are very lucky that he will continue as one of the technical leaders of ESC, and remain the co-author of “Unicode Emoji” (UTS #51). To ensure the smooth operation of the ESC, we have three eminently-qualified new vice-chairs: Jeremy Burge, who has been responsible for crafting and refining proposals from the most popular requests received at Emojipedia; Jennifer 8 Lee, who has played a pivotal role in developing, inspiring, and mentoring emoji requests through Emojination; and Tayfun Karadeniz, who has researched, organized, and shepherded emoji in the very popular areas of smileys and human-form emoji. All three have already made lasting contributions to the work of the ESC, and we welcome them in their new roles.

— Mark Davis, ESC chair

Over 100,000 characters are available for adoption, to help the Unicode Consortium’s work on digitally disadvantaged languages.

Unicode 10.0 Paperback Available

The Unicode 10.0 core specification is now available in paperback book form with a new, original cover design. This edition consists of a pair of modestly priced print-on-demand volumes containing the complete text of the core specification of Version 10.0 of the Unicode Standard.

Each of the two volumes is a compact 6×9 inch US trade paperback size. The two volumes may be purchased separately or together, although they are intended as a set. The cost for the pair is US $16.85, plus postage and applicable taxes. Please visit the description page to order.

Note that these volumes do not include the Version 10.0 code charts, nor do they include the Version 10.0 Standard Annexes and Unicode Character Database, which are freely available on the Unicode website.

Purchase The Unicode Standard, Version 10.0 - Core Specification

Gold Sponsor SMU Guildhall

The Unicode Consortium is pleased to announce that SMU Guildhall is now a gold sponsor for:

SMU Guildhall's  sponsorship directly funds the work of the Unicode Consortium in enabling modern software and computing systems to support the widest range of human languages. There are approximately 7,000 living human languages. Fewer than 100 of these languages are well-supported on computers, mobile phones, and other devices. AAC donations are used to improve support for digitally disadvantaged languages, and to help preserve the world’s linguistic heritage.

SMU Guildhall is the #1 graduate school for video game design, the first in the world to offer a master's degree in interactive technology, and the only program with specializations in all four cornerstones of game development: Art, Design, Programming, and Production. Their game industry faculty turn a passion for gaming into a viable and fulfilling career by mentoring students through the two year program and 3+ team game projects. Over 700 Guildhall alumni have worked at over 250 game studios globally.  — SMU Guildhall

The Unicode Consortium thanks SMU Guildhall for their support!

All sponsors are listed on Sponsors of Adopted Characters. More than 128,000 other characters are available for adoption — see Adopt a Character. 

Keynote Speaker Announced for IUC 41

Can We Escape Alphabetic Order? Chinese I.T. Before and After Unicode

Thomas S. Mullaney
Associate Professor of Chinese History, Stanford University

Drawing upon more than a decade of research in the fields of Chinese and Non-Western information technology, Stanford historian Tom Mullaney maps out the parallel and still-uncharted worlds of Chinese IT. Worlds where text encoding systems have never been hidden from the average user’s view, but instead where they are directly manipulated, command-line-style, by hundreds of millions of code-conscious users. Worlds where the mythology of “plaintext” was never allowed to take hold, and where everyone knows that ‘WYS’ is not ‘WYG’. With vivid examples pulled from the archives of telegraphy, computing, machine translation, digital typography, and more, he will give a guided tour of China‘s 200-year-old quest for a stable information order, posing a fundamental question along the way: Why has the Chinese script proven so difficult to encode, and what does this tell us about the fundamental inequalities that are still baked into our modern-day information order?

About IUC 41, October 16-18, 2017: For twenty-six years the Internationalization & Unicode® Conference (IUC) has been the preeminent event highlighting the latest innovations and best practices of global and multilingual software providers. Please join us for our 41st conference! This year's event is being held on October 16-18, 2017 in Santa Clara, California. Read more.

Unicode Consortium Announces Cover Design

The Unicode Consortium is pleased to announce the new design selected for the cover of the forthcoming print-on-demand publication of The Unicode Standard, Version 10.0. The Unicode Consortium issued an open call for artists and designers to submit cover design proposals. All submitted designs were reviewed by an independent panel.


The selected cover artwork is an original design by Kosala Senevirathne, art director and graphic designer at Mooniak, a design and art direction studio in Colombo, Sri Lanka, that focuses on multilingual design. The design is about the spirit of Unicode Standard; a universal standard that enables equal opportunity for discussion and discourse in writing systems of the world.

Two runner-up designs by Diana Gomez and Maitray Shah were also selected. Diana Gomez is currently a senior in the Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. Maitray Shah is a graduate student at San Jose State University pursuing a Masters in Software Engineering.

Diana Gomez:

Maitray Shah:

Unicode Emoji 6.0 initial drafts / Draft Candidate chart updated

Emoji 6.0 is starting development, and initial drafts of the specification and data files are available. In the specification and data, a new property is added that helps to “future-proof” segmentation for emoji. The specification also contains more proposed guidelines: for gender-neutral emoji, the application of skin-tone modifiers, and others.

There are two types of emoji: characters and sequences. While these appear and behave similarly for users, they are released on different time schedules.

• Emoji characters at Draft Candidate status are targeted at Unicode 11.0 (due in June 2018). These characters are “short-listed”. The Emoji Candidates chart has been updated with these characters, and feedback is solicited on names, keywords, and ordering. They will be reviewed at the October UTC meeting and are on track for Final Candidate status.
• Emoji sequences may be released as a part of Emoji 6.0. The exact content and release schedule of Emoji 6.0 has yet to be determined: it could appear earlier than Unicode 11.0. The Proposals for new sequences for Emoji 6.0 were presented in L2/17-287 and will be reviewed in the October UTC meeting. Other proposals may be considered at that meeting.

Over 100,000 characters are available for adoption, to help the Unicode Consortium’s work on digitally disadvantaged languages.