Re: How about a typology for input methods

> From: Andrew Dunbar [mailto:hippietrail@...]
> Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 11:37 PM


> I can envisage two types of IMEs for Tamil based on
> what I've been reading here.
>
> 1) Thai-style which takes maps a character to a key,
> and just rearranges character sequences when the user
> types vowels in the wrong order, and prevents invalid
> sequences. But does not offer a conversion list.

That is simply a complex input method; it is not an IME.

And, btw, conversion lists (better known, I believe, as candidate lists)
are not a necessary part of IMEs (but are sufficient to characterize an
input method as an IME).

> Number 1 exists for Thai but doesn't ship with Windows
> because most people don't seem to need it. The
> programmer needs to know what rearranging needs to
> happen in *all* cases, and what combinations are and
> are not legal combinations.

I've never heard of a Thai input method that re-orders characters during
input.



Peter Constable