Re: FAQ, German Umlauts

[Peter Stephenson <pws@ifh.de>]

Uli Zappe wrote:
> Hmm, on NEXTSTEP, there isn't even a file called /usr/lib/locale,  
> and nothing else needs it.
> 
> Being no UNIX expert, I'd find it annoying to have to install such  
> a file simply to be able to run zsh correctly.

The locale business is the standard way of telling the system what is
a character and what isn't (and all sorts of similar things).  It just
happens to work on a range of `normal' UNIX machines with `normal'
X windows, which is why I wrote the explanation.

It sounds like NEXTSTEP doesn't have that.  Try looking in the `ctype'
manual page to see if there is anything corresponding to it (these are
the routines zsh uses to decide whether something is printable and
most systems refer there to the locale mechanism if it is available).
 
> I mean, why the hell can't zsh do without? It *does* get right the  
> small German Umlauts, so I don't think there's any reason it  
> shouldn't be able to cope with the capital ones without the help of  
> some special file.

Zsh doesn't even decide; the system does and it seems to be getting it
wrong.  To clarify, zsh doesn't need the locale system either, it just
supports it if it is available.

The alternative is Wolfgang Hukriede's suggestion of passing through
all characters.  That's dangerous in general, so it would have to be
an option.

The old zsh, so far as I remember, didn't even have the locale
mechanism, so is unlikely to be able to do non-ASCII characters.  Even
a reasonable attempt at 8-bit characters is fairly new.

-- 
Peter Stephenson <pws@ifh.de>       Tel: +49 33762 77366
WWW:  http://www.ifh.de/~pws/       Fax: +49 33762 77413
Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron --- Institut fuer Hochenergiephysik Zeuthen
DESY-IfH, 15735 Zeuthen, Germany.