3.1113 character sets on PS/2? (46)
Willard McCarty (MCCARTY@vm.epas.utoronto.ca)
Wed, 28 Feb 90 20:00:10 EST
Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 3, No. 1113. Wednesday, 28 Feb 1990.
Date: Wed, 28 FEB 90 15:03:28 GMT
From: CHAA006@VAXA.RHBNC.AC.UK
Subject: Multinational character-set support on IBM PS/2s
The Department of French at RHBNC is considering replacing its Digital
VAXmates with IBM PS/2s. For this department, the great advantage of
the VAXmate was its ability to compose accented characters, using a two
or three-key `compose' sequence (e.g. to achieve e-acute, one entered
<compose> `e' `acute'). The PS/2, as standard, does not appear to
possess such a feature; instead, one creates accented characters using
obscure <ALT> key combinations (the <ALT> key followed by three digits
from the numeric cluster). We are sure that most humanists would not
tolerate this nonsense, and wonder how they configure their PS/2s so as
to achieve direct accented-character entry. We should add that we would
want to continue using a U.S. QWERTY keyboard, not migrate to an AZERTY
keyboard, and that we would want a general solution which is applicable
both to simple text editors such as PC-EDT, as well as more sophisticated
word-processors such as `Microsoft Word' or `Word Perfect'. Your
comments would be much appreciated.
La Section de Frangais ` RHBNC envisage de remplacer ses Digital VAXmates
par des IBM PS/2S. Pour la Section de Frangais, le grand avantage des
VAXmates itait de permettre l'accentuation avec deux ou trois touches
(par exemple, pour rialiser +i;, on utilise +compose;, +e;, et +';). Le
PS/2, parant-il, n'est pas doti d'une telle faciliti; on crie les
caracthres accentuis avec des combinaisons obscures (la touche +alt;,
suivie de trois autres touches). Nous sommes persuadis que la plupart
des humanistes ne tolireraient pas un tel rituel, et nous serions
intiressis de connantre la manihre dont ils arrangent leurs PS/2s pour
crier les caracthres accentuis de fagon plus directe. Il convient
d'ajouter que nous aimerions continuer ` utiliser le clavier amiricain
+QWERTY; pluttt que d'adopter le +AZERTY;, et qu'il nous faudrait une
solution ginirale qui s'adapte ` des iditeurs simples tels que PC-EDT en
mjme temps qu'` des traitements de texte plus sophistiquis, tels que
`Microsoft Word' ou `Word perfect'. Vos observations seraient trhs
bienvenues!
Nous vous en remercions vivement ` l'avance.