U+1219C SUMERIAN CUNEIFORM
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Ifädrens ſpår för framtids ſegrar. Vasa Ski race motto.

Phase 0: Unicode Support for PDP-10

Purpose

• Establish Unicode encoding and decoding infrastructure as a foundation for higher-level language porting (e.g., Python and APL).
• Ensure compatibility with existing UTF-8/UTF-9 schemes devised by Mark Crispin.

Tasks

• Leverage Mark Crispin’s work:
  • Review and validate existing UTF-8 and UTF-9 implementations
  • Adapt to PDP-10 word and byte structure
• Implement a Locale Module for Localization
  • port relevant parts of the Posix locale library to TOPS-10 and TOPS-20
  • adapt time and date conversion routines in tandem with LOCALE.MAC
• Review and validate existing UTF-8 and UTF-9 implementations
• Adapt to PDP-10 word and byte structure
• Licensing
  • verify compliance with licensing conditionsof all external resources used.
  • select appropriate liceNses for distributing the deliverables.
• Create UNICODE.MAC:
  • Hold Unicode tables, constants, and bitmask macros
  • Include case-folding, character width, category tables as needed
• Design new System Calls:
  • Provide kernel-level access to Unicode conversion routines
  • Define interface contract (register usage, flags, monitor symbols)
  • Assign a UUO number for UTFC% Functions in TOPS-10
  • Assign a JSYS number for UTFC% in TOPS-20
• modify existing monitor code to be unicode-compliant (conditional assembly).
• TOPS-20 only: allocate a separate monitor section for new code and data.
• Testing & Verification:
  • Write MACRO-10 unit tests for encoding/decoding
  • Compare outputs against standard Unicode test vectors

Future developments

Supporting Unicode lays the groundwork for future extensions such as SSL, an X11 Window System implementation with audio, high-resolution color graphics and vectorized fonts.

Deliverables

• UNICODE.MAC source file
• Documentation for UTFC% JSYS interface
• Sample utilities: Unicode string echo, UTF-8/9 encoder/decoder
• Emulator scripts for automated test harness

References

1. unicode consortium
2. RFC 4042: UTF-9 and UTF-18 Efficient Transformation Formats of Unicode

   This RFC, authored by Mark Crispin, provides a comprehensive description of UTF-9 and UTF-18 encodings, including sample routines in PDP-10 assembly and C. It serves as the primary reference for these encodings.

3. GitHub Repository: enricobacis/utf9

   For a practical implementation, there's a Python module that encodes and decodes text using UTF-9. While not authored by Mark Crispin, it is based on the specifications provided in RFC 4042 and can serve as a reference or starting point for our implementation.

4. Plain Text, NDC Copenhagen 2022 by Dylan Beattie
5. introduction to DIGITAL Standard RUNOFF
6. TOPS-20 DIGITAL Standard RUNOFF User's Guide