Adding Unicode operators to D

[Bill Baxter]

On Thu, Oct 23, 2008 at 7:27 AM, Andrei Alexandrescu
<SeeWebsiteForEmail at erdani.org> wrote:
> Please vote up before the haters take it down, and discuss:
>
> http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/78rjk/allowing_unicode_operators_in_d_similarly_to/
>

(My comment cross posted here from reddit)

I think the right way to do it is not to make everything Unicode. All
the pressure on the existing symbols would be dramatically relieved by
the addition of just a handful of new symbols.

The truth is keyboards aren't very good for inputting Unicode. That
isn't likely to change. Yes they've dealt with the problem in Asian
languages by using IMEs but in my opinion IMEs are horrible to use.

Some people seem to argue it's a waste to go to Unicode only for a few
symbols. If you're going to go Unicode, you should go whole hog. I'd
argue the exact opposite. If you're going to go Unicode, it should be
done in moderation. Use as little Unicode as necessary and no more.

As for how to input unicode -- Microsoft Word solved that problem ages
ago, assuming we're talking about small numbers of special characters.
It's called AutoCorrect. You just register your unicode symbol as a
misspelling for "(X)" or something unique like that and then every
time you type "(X)" a funky unicode character instantly replaces those
chars.

Yeh, not many editors support such a feature. But it's very easy to
implement. And with that one generic mechanism, your editor is ready
to support input of Unicode chars in any language just by adding the
right definitions.

--bb