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Conference taveng::bagels

Title:	BAGELS and other things of Jewish interest
Notice:	1.0 policy, 280.0 directory, 32.0 registration
Moderator:	SMURF::FENSTER

Created:	Mon Feb 03 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	1524
Total number of notes:	18709

390.0. "Yiddish Word Processor?" by MAY20::MINOW (Je suis marxiste, tendance Groucho) Mon Nov 09 1987 13:03

Well, I've decided that this winter's hobby will be writing a Yiddish
word processor.  There are several reasons -- beyond the intellectual
challange, of course:

-- I'm learning Yiddish at a night-school class.

-- My handwriting's bad enough in English; not even I can read my Yiddish
   scrawlings.

-- There doesn't seem to be anything suitable out there.

Suggestions are welcome.  (Thanks, but I already know the address of
McLean's hostpital for the terminally confused.)

One special problem is that, unlike Hebrew, Yiddish *does* require vowel
markings.  There are also consonant diacritics to be dealt with.  I'd
be grateful for information on just what is done for Hebrew typesetting --
where vowels and diacritics would be needed (in religious texts, for
example).

One obvious problem is that I don't even know how a Yiddish typewriter
is layed out.

Pointers to code, fonts, documentation, etc. would be most welcome.
I'll try to write the Yiddish-specific parts so they could be transported
to other environments.

Thanks.

Martin.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
390.1	Vus zuks ta?	FSLENG::CHERSON	and what's your raison d'etre?!	`Mon Nov 09 1987 15:19`	3
	A very interesting use of free time. David
390.2	Computer?	DSSDEV::MOR		`Mon Nov 09 1987 16:31`	2
	What type of computer will you be working on?
390.3	The entire functional spec.	MAY20::MINOW	Je suis marxiste, tendance Groucho	`Mon Nov 09 1987 17:07`	11
	Right now, I'm planning on extending MicroEmacs on an Atari St. The advantage of the Atari is that the operating system understands variable-length fonts. It may also understand the concept of font (or character) directionality. The code will be written in C, and as modular as possible. I'll try to follow the design ideas given in Becker's paper (Arabic Word Processing in CACM, July 1987) -- i.e. text will be typed from beginning to end, and it will be the computer's problem to figure out directionality. Martin.
390.4	Try NYC	USACSB::SCHORR		`Wed Nov 11 1987 10:26`	7
	Why don't you contact the Yiddish paper(s) in New York City. They have solved the problem as least as far as typesetting goes. I'm sure they would be greatful to anyone who is undertaking such a noble projext. WS
390.5	Forward?	MAY20::MINOW	Je suis marxiste, tendance Groucho	`Wed Nov 11 1987 12:03`	8
	That's a good idea -- I was thinking of writing them (in English) to see whether there are other hackers out there. (I did ask at 47th St. Photo without results.) I've also thought about contacting the Yiddish book depository in Amherst (?) -- but don't know the number. Martin.
390.6	The Yiddish book repository	REGENT::LUWISH		`Wed Nov 11 1987 12:23`	9
	National Yiddish Book Center POB 969 Old East Street School Amherst MA 01004 Don't know the number either, but you should be able to get it from 413-555-1212 given the above info. Ed
390.7	Try MIT Hillel for an example on the Mac	LEDS::ENGELSON	Gary S. Engelson	`Fri Nov 20 1987 12:01`	11
	You might also try contacting MIT Hillel, in Cambridge, MA. Someone there wrote a desk accessory for the Macintosh that allows Hebrew text entry in many application programs. It has many of the features you are looking for, including beginning to end entry and vowels. One interesting feature of the vowels is the option for "quick" placement, or "correct" placement. Someone at Hillel should be able to point you to the author. --Gary
390.8	Hebrew Font for Panasonic Dot-matrix Printers	MAY20::MINOW	Je suis marxiste, tendance Groucho	`Fri Nov 20 1987 12:06`	12
	For what it's worth, I have a C program that downloads a Hebrew font into a Panasonic 1080i printer. The printer is Epson compatible, so it might work on other similar printers as well. The font could use a bit of tuning, but it seems relatively readable. The character order follows ECMA-121 and is compatible with the Dec LA50 character set. I've also added 5 graphic symbols needed for Yiddish. Mail to me if you could use a copy. Martin.
390.9	MacHacking	RICKS::REISS	Fern Alyza Reiss	`Mon Nov 23 1987 15:41`	5
	The MIT Hillel "MacHebrew" is public domain software, if you want a copy. It was written by Joe Weinstein, who lives in Cambridge (and is listed in the phonebook, I think.) (It works on everything but the Mac SE)
390.10	Hacking the Printer	MAY20::MINOW	Je suis marxiste, tendance Groucho	`Mon Nov 23 1987 15:58`	14
	Well, I suppose I should release the "Aleph-test" version of a little program that takes a file and prints it on a Panasonic (Epson-compatible) printer. It allows mixed English and Hebrew, and lets you choose whether the default format is English (left-to-right) with interspersed Hebrew or vice-versa. Feel free to copy the source code from BOLT::USER:[MINOW.YIDDISH.HPRINT]. Better algorithms for detecting sequences that need reversal are cordially solicited. I fully intend to redo the current hack as a finite-state automata. Martin.