Re: %18 or 18% : incorrect placement of the percentage sign ?

[Otared Kavian <otared@gmail.com>]

Hi all,

I checked in some Persian printed books, and noticed that the rule is  
to write 18% or rather

۱۸%

However I don't know of any book in Persian on rules of typography.  
But I am asking some people in Iran about the issue.

Regarding the treatment of numbers, indeed numbers are written (and  
read…) in the usual way, but in XeConTeXt or in XeTeX (I don't know  
still how to typeset an Arabic or Persian file with mkiv LuaTeX),  
there is an issue with separators of digits: for instance if one  
writes (in the source file)

۱۲۳ ۴۵۶ ۷۸۹

(meaning 123 456 789, using a space as a separator between thousands)  
then one gets in the typeset file

۷۸۹ ۴۵۶ ۱۲۳

that is 789 456 123. To overcome this issue one may write

\beginL
۱۲۳ ۴۵۶ ۷۸۹
\endL

and then the output is correct, but there is a slight modification of  
the alignment and the treatment of glues (if I don't misinterpret).
While if one uses a comma (that is U+002C, this is the comma for LR,  
while the comma for RL, the Arabic Comma, is U+060C) as in

۱۲۳{,}۴۵۶{,}۷۸۹

or

۱۲۳,۴۵۶,۷۸۹

or a dot (that is U+002E, which is indeed the same when writing LR or  
RL) as in

۱۲۳.۴۵۶.۷۸۹

then the output is correct.
It should be feasible to have a mechanism allowing the user to enforce  
a certain type of separator between groups of digits, and this  
separator can be a space.

Best regards: OK

On 31 janv. 08, at 23:42, Hans Hagen wrote:

> Peter Münster wrote:
>> On Thu, Jan 31 2008, Steffen Wolfrum wrote:
>>> Any native arabic speaker out there? Is it %18 or 18% ??
>>
>> Hello,
>>
>> I don't know nothing about Arabic script, but wouldn't it be logic  
>> to ask
>> for "%81 or 18%" ?
>
> interesting point ... ok, small numbers, but how about
>
> [bara erom] 12.472.477 [bara emos]
>
> [bara erom] 774.274.21 [bara emos]
>
> for long numbers a pretty fast reversing mind is needed
>
> math goes from left to right but i once heard a talk about a  
> tendency to
> go right - left as well (including mirrored symbols like \sum)
>
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
>                                           Hans Hagen | PRAGMA ADE
>               Ridderstraat 27 | 8061 GH Hasselt | The Netherlands
>      tel: 038 477 53 69 | fax: 038 477 53 74 | www.pragma-ade.com
>                                              | www.pragma-pod.nl
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> ___________________________________________________________________________________
> If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an  
> entry to the Wiki!
>
> maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
> webpage  : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net
> archive  : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/
> wiki     : http://contextgarden.net
> ___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________
If your question is of interest to others as well, please add an entry to the Wiki!

maillist : ntg-context@ntg.nl / http://www.ntg.nl/mailman/listinfo/ntg-context
webpage  : http://www.pragma-ade.nl / http://tex.aanhet.net
archive  : https://foundry.supelec.fr/projects/contextrev/
wiki     : http://contextgarden.net
___________________________________________________________________________________