Binary SignWriting and Unicode

[Steve Slevinski]

Hi list,

There's been renewed interest in Unicode lately.  I think the main 
reason to use Unicode is to reduce size.
 
I have a proposal for Binary SignWriting that will integrate with 
Unicode.  The specifics may change, but the basic idea offers a lot of 
promise.  http://signpuddle.net/index.php?id=Binary%20SignWriting
 
This will be an open standard that will work with SignText and replace 
the other markups and formats.
 
As an example, consider the following section from "The Cat in the Hat" 
by Cherie Wren.
http://www.signbank.org/SignPuddle1.5/canvas.php?ui=1&sgn=5&sid=130
 
This has 164 letters (or symbols) from the SignWriting alphabet; has 28 
words (or signs) and is displayed using 7 image columns.
 
 
Here's the size breakdown:
Image Columns: 23 k
SWML: 10k
Binary SW: 0.64k
 
This is a tremendous saving.  Binary SW has a nice hex representation 
and it can be used in files, online, and databases.  Binary SW 
integrates well with either font files or the current image files.  It's 
compatible with Unicode and the current SignText.  It can use style 
sheets for presentation.
 
There will be several types of SignText plugins: client (FireFox 
plugin), server (PHP and Ajax), and application (python, visual basic, 
...).  All will use Binary SW with the new ISWA.  I'll be releasing the 
plugins as open source under the GPL on SourceForge.net.  If you want to 
participate in the coding, send me an email discussing your interest.  
2008 is going to be a fun year.
 
The specifications will be appearing on my site 
http://www.signpuddle.net as open standards and proposals.  I'd welcome 
any comments, feedback or alternative ideas.
 
Regards,
-Steve



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