Subject: Re: [idn] UNIX moving to UTF-8

From: "D. J. Bernstein" <[email-masked]>
Date: 2 Feb 2001 00:03:37 -0000

I've sent nameprepped UTF-8 names through many programs without trouble.
It's really quite rare for a UNIX program to mangle 8-bit characters.
(Sendmail is an exception, because of its clumsy string handling.)

Of course, programs that align text on a terminal---for example, mail
clients such as Mutt, and editors such as Emacs---have to understand the
width of a UTF-8 string. In most cases they already do, and in other
cases the upgrades will be done soon.

UTF-8 IDNs will also need mail clients to assume that message header
fields use UTF-8. I'm counting this upgrade and redeployment as part of
the cost of UTF-8 IDNs.

Keith keeps claiming that there are many more programs that would have
to be upgraded for UTF-8, but he refuses to name any of those programs.
Am I the only person who thinks our decisions should be based on facts?

---Dan

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From: Keith Moore <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 01 Feb 2001 19:55:28 -0500

> Am I the only person who thinks our decisions should be based on facts?

No, you're the only person who thinks that our decisions should be based
on gross extrapolations from a small sample of tests that  you've done.

Keith