Interview: Jitendra Shah
Using OpenOffice.org to Switch to Unicode
2004-09
Unicode was developed to 供給する a 標準化するd way of encoding multilingual text. By 標準化するing the encoding 計画／陰謀 and by making room for more than 65,000 characters, Unicode became an instant 攻撃する，衝突する with 地元の language 計算するing developers around the world.
In India, which has more than a handful of languages and scripts written both from left-to-権利 and 権利-to-left, Unicode was 受託するd with open 手渡すs.
Indictrans is a 事業／計画（する） that is using OpenOffice.org as a means of getting ありふれた people to switch to Unicode. Prof. Jitendra Shah, the 事業／計画（する） leader of Indictrans, has worked on 事業／計画（する）s to 変える 政府 文書s to Unicode. His pitch to the 政府 officers: "if you 転換 to OpenOffice.org with any 解放する／自由な OpenType fonts, you get the Indian language 能力 through Unicode along with it. And you can make this 転換 to Unicode すぐに. This can be done even on older 金物類／武器類 like the PIII or Celeron with 64MB RAM. The 転換 to OpenOffice.org enables you to 標準化する on Unicode and any new PCs don't need to be 負担d with a 高くつく／犠牲の大きい OS. GNU/Linux systems will do nicely."
In this interview , Shah explains his belief that "OpenOffice.org-Unicode-GNU/Linux" 暗示するs affordable freedom for Indian languages.
Q. India has developed its own encoding like ISFOC, ISCII. Why then instead of 標準化するing on them did you decide to go after Unicode?
A: It's like this. If my mother 組織するd a hall, bedroom and 祈り place in a 10x10 apartment I would admire her for that. But this does not mean I have to keep her in the same 明言する／公表する when I can afford 10 times the space.
ISFOC and ISCII were developed in the 8-bit constrained 時代. The most important 面 in ISCII is its phonetic pattern. This has been 選ぶd up lock-在庫／株 and バーレル／樽 in Unicode. Hence we are loosing little. To make the same encoding be seen in different scripts by a 'switch of a button' is still 平易な though not (a)自動的な／(n)自動拳銃. This is no 広大な／多数の／重要な loss as most 計算するing goes on behind the scene and 使用者s do not have to bother. The most advantageous 面 of Unicode is that Linux natively supports Unicode while it does not support ISCII. This is the most important 推論する／理由 why 移住 to Unicode is 正当化するd.
The second most important 推論する／理由 why I 特に lean on Unicode is that 解放する／自由な ソフトウェア can be much more easily spread using Unicode and 支持者s of ISCII have not yet come 今後 with 解放する／自由な 解答s based on ISCII. I have therefore 可決する・採択するd the 大勝する of translating ISCII content to Unicode and to then use it with 解放する／自由な/Open Source ソフトウェア. The 解放する／自由な ソフトウェア Movement has of course 終始一貫して argued in 好意 of Unicode.
This does not 妨げる ardent 解放する／自由な/Open Source 使用者s from using some ASCII based fonts in Emacs, mule, etc. ('Asian'). There is no 疑問 that the Centre for 開発 of 前進するd 計算するing (CDAC 以前は NCST) showed the way in this direction a few years 支援する.
Thirdly if we were to 標準化する on anything, then it must be '全世界の' ( i.e., 全世界の+地元の) and not just 地元の. ISCII would be just 地元の.
Q. How are open source 事業／計画（する）s like OOo useful to India? How are you using OOo?
A: They are 極端に useful to India because OOo is the 選び出す／独身 most important 推論する／理由 why 移住 to OSS/解放する／自由な ソフトウェア will occur beyond the 網状組織 servers. There is 絶対 no 疑問 in my mind. 存在 open source, is like a glass box which is superbly better than the blackbox model.
I am using OOo as 'the' argument for 転換ing to Indian language enablement, whatever might be the OS [operating system--ed.].
Q. What are the 障害s in 標準化するing on Unicode? What problems 存在する for you to engage in OOo? How can these be 解決するd?
A: The main 障害 is the 手渡す-持つ／拘留するing 要求するd while 取引，協定ing with the 政府 departments who need to migrate. There are many ロビーs of proprietary ソフトウェア which are there propagating against Unicode. The big-予算-loving 決定／判定勝ち（する） 製造者s are attracted by the proprietary 選択s.
They can see the 欠陥／不足s of 解放する／自由な/Open Source with a magnifying レンズ. They either overlook or ignore if they notice, 問題／発行するs like the total cost of 所有権 or the importance of the stigma of piracy. Once 政府 団体／死体s start migrating, others will follow more easily.
The education 部門 is important too. But that 要求するs more ロビーing. The system as of now is too tied に向かって 造幣局ing money and not geared to encourage learning. The 飛行機で行く-by-night 請負業者s who 'teach' computers in schools are happy with '著作権侵害者d', '基準', 'familiar' ソフトウェア and would consider anything else substandard. The machines are usually discarded ones with low RAM and hence typical GNU/Linux with 現在の 見解／翻訳／版s of OOo may not be loadable.
Another area is to 会社にする／組み込む new keyboard layouts. 手続きs are not （疑いを）晴らす (to me). Our 政府 従業員s have been 麻薬中毒の to 'typewriter' keyboards. How do I 含む them? I have done that for yudit and have also done it using java, from scratch. OOo can definitely help in this regard.
The support for dictionaries, （一定の）期間-checkers, better support for （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs in word-加工業者s (特に wide （米）棚上げする／（英）提議するs and in landscape 判型) is 行方不明の. This 傷つけるs. The 問題／発行するs of 贈呈 ソフトウェア, like not supporting some of the most 最近の features in Microsoft PowerPoint, may not be that important as far as I think.
OpenOffice.org can even work on Windows and can support binary 使用／適用s across 壇・綱領・公約s. But input methods and fonts are the main 制限s (use IBM IME as input method and Arial Unicode MS as font). One wishes there was better support for OpenType.
So in a snap, my students were not able to 位置を示す a simple way to build a dictionary, so that we could use the 自動車-完成 feature in OOo. We also don't know the 手続き for localizing OOo: there is a simple 手続き using gettext, msgfmt, po-とじ込み／提出する translation, etc. for C programs, GNOME, KDE etc. We don't know how to 追加する a new keyboard layout (you will find typewriter, KeyLekh on our 場所／位置 in typebhaaratii). OOo has Inscript which is the best.
Q. How do you 想像する engaging your students in open-source 事業／計画（する）s, 含むing OOo?
A: I have tried to work on （一定の）期間-checkers, 自動車-完成, dictionaries and converters. I wish all these can be 会社にする／組み込むd in OOo. You can see that I have 道具s for 変えるing (font-encoding to Unicode, and 副／悪徳行為 versa, HTML or text etc). I wish I could 会社にする／組み込む them in OOo.
Q. Why would you rather work on popular OSS for Localization 目的s than creating your own from scratch?
A: I don't really know the answer except that I am not crazy to start from scratch for what is already 利用できる :)
Q. How does F/OSS help Indian democratic 成果／努力s? What are the 問題／発行するs that 存在する? How do you 解決する them?
A: Fluency of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） is an 必須の 必要条件 for any 僕主主義. F/OSS enables fluency of （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） by basing （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） on 基準s and also making 使用／適用s reproducible without 限界s.
As for the 問題／発行するs, apart from the ones 名簿（に載せる）／表（にあげる）d above, there is a need to localize OOo. Indictrans have had to keep that in the 支援する-burner as Indictrans are struggling to help the team 生き残る with other 歳入 収入 事業／計画（する）s.
There are a lot of charity organizations and public spirited people. But there is no 効果的な organization that can bring these amorphous 軍隊s together.
About the author
Mayank Sharma 令状s on open source 開発 in India. He lives in New Delhi. He has generously 寄付するd this work to the OpenOffice.org 事業／計画（する）.
This work is licensed under a Creative ありふれたs License.
