>LangBox International
>Immeuble SPACE, Bat B
>208/212 Route de Grenoble
>06200 Nice - France
>Tel.: (33) 93 71 14 10
>Fax.: (33) 93 71 15 60
>E-mail: langbox@utopia.fnet.fr
>
>
> LANGBOX 3.3 FOR ARABIC
>
>
> The Bilingual English/ARABIC Environment
> of UNIX
>
>
>
> Technical Product Description
>
>
>
> February 1994
>
>
>
>
>Introduction
>============
>
>Background
>
>ARABIC, as a calligraphic language, presents major processing problems.
>
>A ARABIC character may take one, two, or sometimes four different shapes, yet
>it
> is represented by
>one code. The shape of the character is determined depending on its position
>in
> the word. This is but
>one problem.
>
>Another is the direction of writing. ARABIC text is written from right to left.
>This conflicts with English,
>which is written in the opposite direction. When mixing text languages,
>characte
>rs are added in one
>language and pushed in the other.
>
>Some users speak only ARABIC. They will not accept a cursor positioned at the
>le
>ftmost position of
>the screen. They want to have an option allowing them to start at the rightmost
>position of the line, i.e.
>in brief, a mirror image of the screen. The implication is that, in this mode,
>E
>nglish characters are
>pushed from right to left.
>
>Yet one more complication : vocalization. These characters, like their
>counterpa
>rt in English, the
>vowels, are a linguistic necessity, yet, in ARABIC, they appear on top or below
>their respective
>consonants.
>
>These linguistic complications - and more - make ARABIC a difficult language
>to
> handle.
>
>LangBox Int'l is specialized in the design and development of bilingual and
>mult
>ilingual Operating Systems. It
>has implemented bilingual capabilities on a large number of machines operating
>u
>nder Unix, Xenix,
>AIX, SUN/OS, ISC, ... etc.
>
>In response to a clear market demand in the Arab countries, LangBox Int'l has
>de
>veloped a Bilingual System
>supporting both the ARABIC and English languages. LANGBOX for ARABIC has thus
>be
>en
>conceived with the following principles in mind :
>
>* Providing a global solution to ARABIC and English simultaneously.
>* Transparency of applications.
>* Total transparency to storage and display of data in national
>languages.
>* Total UNIX application transparency for usage in ARABIC.
>* Ease of internationalization of applications.
>* Conformity with national and international standards.
>
>LANGBOX for ARABIC is a bilingual Operating System and a bilingual development
>e
>nvironment.
>
>The languages supported are :
>
>* English
>* ARABIC
>
>
>It is available in two packages :
>
> * The LANGBOX Base System
> * The LANGBOX Development System
>
>The LANGBOX Working Environment
>
>The LANGBOX system is built around Unix System V. When loaded onto the Unix
>syst
>em,
>LANGBOX provides the user with a full bilingual environment in Operating System
>interface, systems
>development and applications runtime operations.
>
>To be conform to the Unix operating system, LANGBOX is also designed to run in
>a
> multi-user and multi-
>tasking environment and to co-reside with the standard Unix facilities. Having
>L
>ANGBOX added to a
>UNIX system does not prohibit its users from operating in a pure Unix
>environmen
>t.
>
>While operating under the LANGBOX for ARABIC bilingual environment, users can
>se
>lect and set
>their default language, English or ARABIC. Users can login to the system in the
>language of their
>choice and communicate with the host using the standard Unix commands and
>utilit
>ies. The
>commands could be entered in either Latin or ARABIC and are executed by the
>LANG
>BOX shell
>command interpreter. The system responses are displayed in the language chosen
>b
>y the user.
>
>Although set with a default language prior to login, a LANGBOX user can start
>mu
>ltiple work sessions,
>(shell child processes), each with a different base language. He will be able
>to
> alternate languages
>within the same work session, at the commmand line, directory and file level,
>or
> when running a
>standard UNIX application (ex : text processing, spreadsheets, data base
>managem
>ent, etc...).
>
>In addition to the bilingual Unix user interface, LANGBOX provides a
>comprehensi
>ve bilingual
>software development environment for programmers. The programmer will be able,
>w
>ith or without the
>knowledge of the ARABIC language, to develop with ease bilingual applications
>or
> to adapt, with
>minimal effort, current English software packages to run in a bilingual mode
>und
>er the LANGBOX
>environment.
>
>Internationalization of Application
>===================================
>
>LANGBOX provides an enhanced environment for the internationalization of
>applica
>tions as compared
>with classical techniques.
>
>Usually, application programmers incorporate international character strings
>man
>ipulation , "context
>analysis" (automatic shape determination), and display processing within the
>app
>lication. Under
>LANGBOX, 8 bit clean application will run with no modification.
>
>The following table lists the benefits obtained by comparing a full LANGBOX
>bili
>ngual work
>environment with a standard software internationalization approach :
>
>
> LANGBOX BILINGUAL ENVIRONMENT SOFTWARE INTERNATIONALIZATION
> ----------------------------- -----------------------------
>
>Operating system user interface. Not available.
>
>System error messages. Not available.
>
>Language & I/O processing handled by Language & I/O processing implemented
>LANGBOX with no application overhead. in every application program, bigger
> overhead.
>
>English only software developer Sophisticated developers required with
>able to provide bilingual products. knowledge of the ARABIC language
> particularities.
>
>Bilingual software environment Potential inconsistency in software
>is uniform. internationalization.
>
>
>Bilingual Unix Mail easily Major effort required.
>implemented under LANGBOX.
>
>Communication and networking easily Major effort required.
>implemented under LANGBOX.
>
>
>LANGBOX is comprised of two packages :
>
>* The Runtime System
>* The Development System
>
>The Runtime System must be installed prior to the installation of the
>Developmen
>t System package.
>These packages include the standard UNIX V modules to which a set of
>LANGBOX-spe
>cific facilities
>are added.
>
>1- The Runtime System
>---------------------
>
>a) The Shell
>
>LANGBOX includes two national language shells. They are differentiated by the
>fi
>rst characters
>prefixing their label. Thus
>
> * ash is the ARABIC shell.
> * esh is the English shell.
>
>Each is a special shell version created to provide.
>
> * An interpretation of the bilingual commands.
> * A full bilingual environment management.
> * Interface facilities with the kernel.
> * Messages in the national language.
>
>
>When the national shell (ash) is invoqued
>
>* The environment variable LANG is assigned the national language value
>(e
>x : AR
>ABIC)
>and connects all commands to the messages in the respective language.
>
>* The keyboard of the logged-in terminal is reconfigured to the
>appropriat
>e nati
>onal setting.
>The terminal is bilingual. With a single keystroke, the keyboard is back to the
>original
>configuration. A set of keyboard stickers are supplied to help differentiate
>the
> keys in the
>dual keyboard.
>
>* The shell prompt indicates the base language of the invoqued shell.
>
>* The cursor is positioned at the rightmost position on the screen.
>ARABIC
> chara
>cters are
>added, English characters are pushed on.
>
>Each shell can be called from another language shell and achieves the same
>effec
>t. Exiting from a
>shell is done via the traditional "control-d". The national language variables
>a
>re created with a new
>shell and restored when the spawned sub-shell is exited.
>
>The main advantages of the LANGBOX for ARABIC shells are :
>
>* The user decides and selects his/her base language.
>
>* Each shell provides a bilingual work session in a bilingual
>environment.
>
>* Command messages (as well as those of the shell) are in the language of
>the se
>ssion.
>
>b) Commands and utilities
>
>There are two groups of commands and utilities supplied with LANGBOX.
>
>1) The Unix-like Group :
>
>This is a set of executable modules that have the same calling sequence as
>their
> Unix counter parts,
>except that they work in 8-bits and are bilingual.
>These commands are differentiated by their prefix "f".
>example : fcp, fcat, fvi, fdate ...
>
>They also share a set of characteristics :
>
>* They have the same name irrespective of the session language (aed works
>in Eng
>lish
>under esh, in ARABIC under ash).
>
>* The messages of these commands are in the selected national shell
>langua
>ge.
>
>* Many other UNIX commands can run under LANGBOX without modification.
>
>
>
>2) The LANGBOX for ARABIC specific group :
>
>This is a set of commands and utilities supplied with LANGBOX for ARABIC and
>aim
>ed at servicing
>the bilingual community of users. They include :
>
>* Character management.
>* Data conversion utilities.
>* Display processing and character shape management.
>* ARABIC system environment control.
>* Keyboard and screen control commands.
>* Context analysis, etc.
>
>2- The Development System
>-------------------------
>
>a) The LANGBOX commands :
>
>In addition to the standard development power of UNIX, LANGBOX provides a set
>of
> tools to develop
>bilingual applications. They include string management functions reconfigured
>to
> service the 8-bit
>character sets, messages extraction and handing tools, sorts and conversion
>func
>tions ... etc.
>
>The message extraction capabilities provided permit the separation of strings
>ou
>t of "C" program into
>files, and a formatter for these messages to simplify the subsequent
>translation
>s.
>
>These tools are extremely powerful when "internationalization" of applications
>a
>re envisaged.
>
>
>b) The LANGBOX function libraries
>
>These libraries include :
>
>* Character types.
>* Character transformation.
>* Date and calendar routines.
>* Regular expressions.
>* Sort.
>* Internationalization functions.
>
>Bilingual applications can benefit by recompiling under LANGBOX as these
>librari
>es have the same
>calling sequence as their UNIX counterparts, thus generating object code
>capable
> of handling
>bilingual messages.
>
>
>
>LANGBOX is adapted to the standards as set forth by AT&T's SVID and ISO.
>
>The standards adopted under LANGBOX for ARABIC are related to the following :
>
>* Character sets.
>* Standard display conventions.
>* ARABIC level support standards.
>
>1. The Character Sets
>
>The ARABIC characters are 8-bits wide and conform to the following standard :
>
>* ISO 8859-5 (ASMO 708).
> * ASMO 449+
>2- Display Conventions
>
>Characters will be displayed according to their language specific conventions.
>L
>atin characters will
>always appear seperately, while ARABIC characters will be contexed and
>displayed
> in their composite
>form.
>
>The display technique adopted depends on the base and current languages chosen
>b
>y the user.
>
>When the environment is Latin, the initial cursor position is at the left of
>the
> line and characters are
>added to the right as they are entered. ARABIC characters are inserted, and
>push
>ed to the right as
>they are entered.
>
>When the environment is ARABIC, the reverse phenomenon occurs : the initial
>curs
>or position is at
>the right most position of the line, ARABIC characters are added and English
>are
> inserted.
>Vocalization is fully supported on terminals capable of displaying 256
>downloada
>ble characters.
>
>3 - Neutral Characters
>
>These characters are not context sensitive and do not, therefore, affect the
>sha
>pe of ARABIC
>characters. Yet they have, in certain instances, opposite meaning in ARABIC,
>due
> to the direction in
>which this language is written. Typical examples are :
> ( ) { } < > ...etc
>A special command handles the meaning the user wants to assign to these special
>characters.
>
>4 - Numerals
>The user is provided with a command allowing the display of numerals in Latin
>or
> ARABIC. All known
>complications associated with this subject have been solved and incorporated in
>the package.
>
>
>5 - Automatic Shape Determination
>
>The standard rule is to display characters in the way calligraphy requires it.
>I
>t was, however, found that
>this feature should be optional, since system users are frequently in debug
>work
> sessions and prefer
>to have their characters displayed in their original, base form. A pair of
>comma
>nds have been included
>to inhibit or restore Automatic Shape Determination.
>
>6 - LANGBOX Level Support Standards
>
>LANGBOX capabilities will not change when installed on different hardware
>system
> configurations.
>The following standards have been adopted, and will be supported even if the
>ha
>rdware does not
>have the required features :
>
>* Keyboards, display and print devices will support the full ISIRI 2900
> character
>set.
>
>* All I/O device drivers support diacritics (vocalization characters and
>s
>ome AR
>ABIC
>special characters). Display or print devices unable to output these characters
>are
>recognized by LANGBOX and receive only the character set they can handle.
>
>* Keyboards capable of returning diacritic codes but attached to display
>o
>r prin
>t devices
>that do not have these features are supported, even if these characters are not
>echoed.
>The diacritic codes are accepted into the input stream for further processing.
>
>* Context Analysis is supported on all output devices.
>
>
>It is further stressed here that LANGBOX generates and supports a BILINGUAL
>envi
>ronment. While
>host operating systems are single lingual, moving from one language to another
>i
>s normally
>inconceivable in one work session. LANGBOX allows users to set a SESSION
>LANGUAG
>E and to
>intersperse English and ARABIC any time in the session, even within one command
>line.
>
>
>Availability
>============
>
>
>LANGBOX 3.3 is available on the following operating systems :
>
>* SCO XENIX 386 : release 2.3 (AT and MCA versions).
>* SCO UNIX System V release 3.2 (AT and MCA versions).
>* INTERACTIVE 386/IX release 2.0.
>* IBM AIX PS/2 model 70 and 80 releases 1.1 and 1.2.
>* IBM AIX RISC System/6000 release 3.1. and 3.2
>* BULL BOS.
>* INTERGRAPH CLIX.
>* ALTOS System V.
>* SUN/Solaris 2.x SPARC series.
>* CDC's EP/IX.
>* Data General's DG/UX.
>* Siemens' SINIX.
>* Silicon Graphics' IRIX.
>* DEC's Ultrix.
>* AT&T's system V release 4.
>
>
>LANGBOX 3.3 is available on the following target machines :
>
>* PC/AT Architecture on the Intel 80386 and 80486 platform
>* IBM PS/2 model 60, 70 and 80.
>* IBM RISC System/6000 Family.
>* BULL DPX/2.
>* INTERGRAPH INTERPRO series.
>* ALTOS 386 series 1000.
>* SUN's SPARC series.
>* Control Data's Mips series.
>* Data General's AViiON.
>* Digital's DECsystem workstation family.
>* Siemens' MX series.
>
>The X Window system and other windowing environments, such as Sunview, Open
>Wind
>ows,
>DECwindows, Environment V, ...etc. are fully supported under LANGBOX version
>3.3
>.
>
>
>
>* UNIX is a trademark of AT&T.
>* AIX is a trademark of IBM.
>
>