Unicodes are uniform codes used for translation between languages, represented by numbers. They allow for consistent representation of special characters, but may not be readable by all systems. The Unicode Consortium works to implement Unicode and improve multilingual processing. Membership is open to those willing to pay the fee.
The prefix “uni” is used to mean “one” or “equal”, for example, in the word uniform. Uniform means consistent, so essentially, it could be said that unicodes are uniform codes. These uniform codes are often used in translation between various languages, when designating particular symbols or special characters. Since a symbol or special character may appear different in one area than another, it is important that they can be represented in a uniform way for effective overall communication.
You may have noticed unique looking characters in various places, even if you don’t have them on your keyboard. Perhaps your word processing program allows you to recreate many of these special characters, but they can also be reproduced by manually entering HTML. Typically, unicodes are produced using a number or string of numbers. Then, the system used translates that code into the appropriate formatting and font to reveal the special character in a recognizable form.
Have you wondered why strange symbols or boxes sometimes appear, or wondered why something you typed looked strange when copied and pasted elsewhere? Your system or browser may not be able to read all Unicodes. You may see strange-looking characters instead of recognizable ones, or you may see blank space or the little boxes where a character should be. Updating your operating system, your word processing software, or your browser may solve many of your unicode issues, and should be simple enough to do.
While many systems allow for bilingual processing, they cannot handle multilingual processing. By using a number instead of a symbol or “glyph”, unicodes leaves the size and style up to the browser or word processing program in use, to be rendered in a way it can handle. The updated versions are better able to handle these functions. Unicode is currently in use in many popular technologies. The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit group working to implement Unicode in place of other coding standards.
Any interested person is welcome to join this organization. The main requirement is the ability and willingness to pay the membership fee. The goal of implementing unicode or uniform codes so that people around the world can communicate more efficiently is certainly a valid one, albeit a very ambitious one. Many of the big names in computer hardware and software are currently members of the Unicode Consortium, from Adobe to Xerox.
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