From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 20959 invoked from network); 26 Jun 1997 14:03:38 -0000 Received: from euclid.skiles.gatech.edu (list@130.207.146.50) by ns1.primenet.com.au with SMTP; 26 Jun 1997 14:03:38 -0000 Received: (from list@localhost) by euclid.skiles.gatech.edu (8.7.3/8.7.3) id JAA04917; Thu, 26 Jun 1997 09:40:01 -0400 (EDT) Resent-Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 09:35:50 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <199706261338.PAA18046@sgi.ifh.de> To: Uli Zappe , zsh-users@math.gatech.edu (Zsh users list) Subject: Re: FAQ, German Umlauts In-reply-to: "Uli Zappe"'s message of "Thu, 26 Jun 1997 14:01:33 MET." <9706261201.AA00740@tallowcross.uni-frankfurt.de> Date: Thu, 26 Jun 1997 15:38:47 +0200 From: Peter Stephenson Resent-Message-ID: <"5TzTA1.0.SA1.r0dip"@euclid> Resent-From: zsh-users@math.gatech.edu X-Mailing-List: archive/latest/915 X-Loop: zsh-users@math.gatech.edu X-Loop: zsh-workers@math.gatech.edu Precedence: list Resent-Sender: zsh-workers-request@math.gatech.edu 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 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.