[openbeos] Re: Messages Translation ?

Well, perhaps each language should have "orientation" and
"direction" options associated with it, and a base unicode font.

As far as I know, there are only three orientations used:

left->right    (eg most indo-european languages, mod. japanese)
right->left    (most semitic languages)
top->bottom    (mod. japanese, chinese, some forms of devenagri?)

Three directions are used (this is the direction the "carriage
return" sends the newline).

Horizontal orientations always produce top->bottom.
Vertically-oriented languages produce:

right->left    (modern japanese)
left->right

Book right->left cover/left->right cover then, depend on the orientation
for horizontal languages, and the direction for vertical languages.

languages can have multiple orientation/direction options.  In japanese,
literature and social sciences are produced vertically while
physical sciences and mathematics tend to the more western, left->right
orientation.

Menu bars are all ready for horizontal orientation choices -- it would
suffice to just make, for example, hebrew menu choices go reverse, and
right-justified.  There maybe should be an option for vertical menu
writing (they certainly exist in windows - just click the start bar), this
would maybe help out some vertically-oriented languages, though detecting
the language option and implementing a vertical menu would still be the
purview of the programmer.

do we want to include a provision for boustrophedonic writing (a la easter
island, or the infamous florida punch-cards?)

Isaac

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