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Chapter 8

Input from Keyboard

it is obvious that a text editor needs ability to input text from keyboard, otherwise the text editor

is entirely useless. Similarly, an internationalized text editor needs ability to input characters used

for various languages. Other softwares such as shells, libraries such as readline, environments

such as consoles and X terminal emulators, script languages such as perl, tcl/tk, python, and ruby,

and application softwares such as word processors, draw and paints, file managers such as Mid 

night Commander, web browsers, mailers, and so on also need ability to input internationalized

text. Otherwise these softwares are entirely useless.

There are various languages in the world. Thus, proper input methods vary from languages to

languages.

  Some languages such as English doesn't need any special input methods. All characters for

the language can be inputted by a single key on a keyboard. Keymap is all which a user has

to care.

  Some other languages such as German need a simple extension. For example, u with umlaut

can be inputted with two strokes of ':' and 'u'. A way to switch ordinal input mode (key

strokes of ':' and 'u' inputs ':' and 'u') and the extension input mode (key strokes of ':' and

'u' bears u with umlaut) has to be supplied. Almost languages in the world can be inputted

with this method.

  Other languages such as Chinese and Japanese need a complicated input method, since they

use thousands of characters. Since it is very difficult and challenging problem to develop

a clever input method, a few companies are developing Japanese input methods. Typical

Japanese input methods are shipped with tens of megabytes of conversion dictionary. It is

often very troublesome to set up an input method for these languages.

1

You also have to be

practiced to use these input methods.

1

This is a field where proprietary systems such as MS Windows and Macintosh are much easier than free systems

such as Debian and FreeBSD.