UNICODE information

Hello all,

A) UNICODE is just a mapping between fonts. Example :

1) go to http://www.unicode.org/iuc/iuc10/x-utf8.html
In your browser, view source code. The encoding is set to "charset=UTF-8".

2) Now, use the command "Save as" and choose "Windows Western" encoding.
Save the file on your computer. Open it and view source code. The encoding
is set to "charset=windows-1252".

Normally, the display in (1) should be the same as (2).
This shows that UNICODE is not a font but a mapping system (comparable to
an index).

B) Requirements
The requirements for good UNICODE compatibility are:

1) An up-to-date Unicode transcoding system.
Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, XP, IE5 and Netscape Navigator include their own
transcoders.
For what I have read Windows 95 and 98 transcoders cannot be trusted.
This means data entered from pgAdmin II running on Workstation A (W95)
***could*** display differently on Workstation B (Win2000).

2) A Unicode compatible font installed in system.
The list of Unicode fonts can be found on
http://www.hclrss.demon.co.uk/unicode/fonts.html
Examples of IE5 fonts are :
 > Japanese : MS Gothic,
 > Korean : Gulim Che
 > Chinese simplified : MS Hei, MS Song
 > Chinese traditional : MingLiU

3) Visual Basic SP4+ controls
For what I read, only VB SP4+ controls support UNICODE.
VB prior to SP4 could only DISPLAY, not INPUT (Ahhhhh!!!!!).
VB SP4+ can do both (hopefully, never worked under VB for localization, I
am not mad).

4) Probably ODBC special settings
I don't know. Any idea?

For what I know, we can only go for testing and validate one language after
another with beta testers.

Best regards,
Jean-Michel POURE