From: jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc
Subject: Re: Hiragana Fonts And Japanese Computing on Amiga
Date: 4 Oct 92 01:25:07 CDT
Organization: University of Kansas Academic Computing Services

> I converted k14 font in X11 distribution into .font files. 'Cos I didn't know
> what to do with multi-byte character font coding on Amiga, I made dozens of font
> files whose name indexes the code set table, and character code points to one
> of the glyph in the font file. So you have to change font set when you display
> Japanese text with Kanji characters, but fortunately, Hiragana and Katakana
> character sets fall into a single font file respectively. Please let me know
> if anybody has interest.
> 
> - Masaru Sugai

Please note for those that don't know JIS (Japan Industrial Standard)
levels 1-3 are not a 1-byte code like ASCII.  They are _2-byte_ and
are implemented in different ways.  Generally falling under two
categories 7-bit and 8-bit coding sequences.

What that means in _english_ -); is YOU CAN'T TAKE A JIS DOCUMENT AND
READ IT IN A NON-JIS COMPATABLE ENVIRONMENT.  What Mr. Sugai is
suggesting is an excellent idea but will involve physically
translating ever JIS character in a JIS document into a character of a
specific fontset.  For any normal document that includes maybe around
600 different kanji (Reading fluency requires knowing about 2500
Kanji or chinese characters) it would be silly to attempt a task such
as that especially considering fonts sets including the 2500 normally
used kanji would have to be made unless Mr. Sugai has them made.

If you do want to do Japanese in any serious capacity (not just
loading some hiragana into prowrite and show your friends so they can
oh ah over another Amiga coolness) purchase a program called XED or
ANS (eXtended EDitor and Amiga Nihon System) available in Japan by a
company called Softhouse TECHNODE.  The programmer of these is named
Obayashi.

XED is just an editor (and minimal terminal prg.) but ANS will map the
whole OS to JIS compatable input/output.  The price for either I think
was around 20,000 Yen.  I don't think the programs are distributed
outside of Japan (at least last time I checked) so if you want the
program it may be a little cumbersome.

If you're poor like me and have an IBM or Mac try the many PD programs
availbe for ms-dos (including terminal programs and dicitonarys) at
monu6.cc.monash.edu.au in the /pub/nihongo.  Mac has Kanjitalk and is
an OS patch that makes the system JIS compatable.

I had posted a review of the new version of ANS V1.2 to reviews during
the summer that has been lost or something.  Dan Barrett (the new
moderator of reviews) and I have tried to contact the old moderator
about the post but haven't had any luck.  So for everyone that has
mailed me about it expect a new review to be posted sometime in the
next week or so.

If you would like to learn more about the Japanese text standard JIS
or want to program some utilites or are just so bored and devoid of a
social life you've got nothing else to do ftp over to
monu6.cc.monash.edu.au and look in the /pub/nihongo directory and get
some files called japan.inf (which is a great tutorial, programming
reference, mail manual of JIS by Ken Lunde at Adobe) or the jis
utilities source (all in 'C' there although I think there were some
pascal versions around).  If he changes your life write him at
lunde@adobe.com.  He is a very nice guy in my experience and answered
many of my stupid questions.

Pop over to sci.lang.japan if your site has that group as now and then
computer related questions pop up.
-- 
jamiller@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu
James Miller

_chicchai .sig no ho ga ichiban iin janai ka..._
             Enlightenment Happens?
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.misc