Re: lynx-dev Display of SGML Greek Math entities -- solution

[Steve White]

Henry,

A point from our discussions just came home for me:  the distinction
between numeric entities and SGML character entities.

        An HTML numeric character reference is to map directly to a 
        character in the document's character set.

        An HTML SGML character entity is to map to a representation 
        that *depends on* the *display* capabilities.

In the case of lynx, the display capabilities correspond roughly
to the terminal's character set.

If the display character set contains a a character that represents the 
SGML character distinctly, then the entity can be mapped to that character.  
Otherwise, some other means has to be found to display it.  It should be 
easily recognized, and distinct from other characters in the display 
character set.

In graphical browsers, the situation isn't so clear-cut.  For example
many graphical browsers pick-and-choose between available fonts to
display SGML character entities nicely.

Part of the confusion is in what it means to represent the character
"distinctly".

For example, 'α' must be distinct from everything but a glyph of
the greek letter alpha.  '&sum' must be distinct from everything but a 
glyph of the greek capital letter sigma.

Damn.  I'm writing the HTML documentation.  Were there no Lynx people
on the HTML committee?

For people who never used the SGML Greek Mathematical symbols as they 
were intended, in technical documents alongside Latin letters, and for
people who never saw what happens to such documents when the Greek 
symbols are transliterated into Latin, this will be hard to grasp.



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