Message-Id: <9306111524.AA18598@sc.zib-berlin.dbp.de>
Reply-To: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
Date:         Fri, 11 Jun 93 17:12:17 +0200
From: Bernard GAULLE <gaulle@CIRCE.FR>
Sender: Mailing list for the LaTeX3 project <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
To: Multiple Recipients of <LATEX-L@vm.urz.Uni-Heidelberg.de>
Subject:      (ltx3) requirements for Ml docs
Status: R


  Coordinating the ltx3 5.4 research task on "typographical conventions
and requirements in multilingual environments", I would like to find
other volunteers to help me in this heavy task.

  I know that there is a TUG working group which is also working on
a reduced part of the problem and it would be fine that any interface
was established for a better distribution of informations.

  In order to achieve the task i'm going to divide it in several
parts, as small as possible, to retain attention of potential
experimented people, or professionals, or simply "amateurs" with
some knowledge. Please, let me know which part and section you would
like to discuss specially and even if you are candidate to coordinate
one point or another.

  Here are the major topics I want to adress *now*:

Part I, DEFINITIONS
===================
o  What is a language? How a language has to be known inside a latex
   style file for example? (name or number + set of patterns + exceptions
   + hyphenation values & rules + typographic convetions + LR or RL writing
   + fonts + character set +...
o  What is a dialect? How a dialect differ from his original language?
o  Which is the minimum text part on which the language def apply?
o  Are they limits for language application? Is any pop-push mechanism
   required?

Part II, LANGUAGE HANDLING
==========================
Section 1: Hyphenation loading mechanism
Section 2: Hyphenation exceptions handling
Section 3: Related file names standard
Section 4: Switching mechanism

Part III, TYPOGRAPHY HANDLING MECHANISMS
========================================
What are the required mechanisms to apply typographic features for
various (numerous) languages? For example we don't know when it is
required to apply the french guillemets BUT we must know that there
are cases where specific characters (here the french guillemets) need
to be inserted in front of each line and at \everypar.

Section 1: Line level
Section 2: Paragraph level
Section 3: Page level
Section 4: Column level
Section 5: Table row and column levels
Section 6: Two-sides sheet level
Section 7: Math levels (text and display)
Section 8: Sectioning level as well as start/end of documents
Section 9: \shipout level

Part IV, OTHER LANGUAGE REQS
============================
This part will address features not processed in previous parts and
not allready solved in the current LaTeX version or via appropriate
style files.
So it isn't exhaustive.

Are they specific mechanism required to process the following:
Section 1: Bibliography
Section 2: Index
Section 3: Glossary
Section 4: Typographic abbreviations
Section 5: Country Fonts
Section 6: Table of..., abstracts, summaries, keywords,...
Section 7: ??

  I think we would take advantage in having private and parallel
discussions and in trying to produce a short text on each section.
Consensual writing will be search but if divergent opinions occur
then the whole list would be asked for debate.

  As Parts II to IV need to work on the good definitions, text
publication on these parts have to be postponed until Part I
were complete.

  Thanks for your effort to cooperate,
  --bg