Re: windows-XXXX and cpXXXX

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> From: Kenichi Handa <handa@m17n.org>
> CC: angeli@iwi.uni-sb.de, emacs-devel@gnu.org
> Date: Thu, 12 Jan 2006 10:25:13 +0900
> 
> > Confusion between codepage.el and code-pages.el.  They are different
> > and subtly incompatible, but define symbols that are almost identical.
> > As code-pages.el cannot be used in the MS-DOS port, we cannot throw
> > away codepage.el.  Thus, I think DOS codepages (whose names are cpNNN)
> > should be provided only by codepage.el.
> 
> I don't know the distinction of cpNNN and cpNNNN.

That's not what I meant: I didn't mean to say that cpNNN with 3-digit
numbers and cpNNNN with 4 digits are different in any way.

> If cpNNN are only for DOS and are never used in the other
> environment, I agree that having cpNNN in code-pages.el is
> useless.

I don't think we can make such a distinction.  What I'd like to
suggest is that code-pages.el and codepage.el use different names for
them, just for the sake of the user.  For example, code-pages.el could
use ibmNNN or something.

> But, as for cpNNNN,
> <http://www.microsoft.com/typography/unicode/cscp.htm> says
> that Windows uses codepages 125[012345678].  And if it's a
> convention to refer to them by names cp125X, shouldn't we
> provide those names for non-DOS users?

I don't know about such a convention, outside Emacs.  windows-NNNN is
a notation used bu IANA, but cpNNNN is not.

> > My concern would be how a user is to know which library of the two she
> > is using, or should use in a given situation.
> 
> DOS users use codepage.el.  The other users use
> code-pages.el.  Isn't it clear?

It turns out people don't know this, and it certainly is unclear for
them.  I mean users, not Emacs developers.