nu.kanga.list.mud-dev

8670: [MUD-Dev] Re: OT, kinda, but yay :)

On Fri, 23 Oct 1998, Chris Gray wrote:
> At least on WIN32. Does Linux do Unicode well? In MS VC5 you use icky
> macros for Unicode string constants. What does gcc do? Is it as ugly?

If you're using unicode I wouldn't use string constants at all.
I'd put them all in an external text file.  That way when you want
the whole game translated, you just send off those text files to
your translaters.  No reprogramming required, and no ugly stuff in your
7-bit source files.

Of course, you can run into some interesting problems.  For instance,
our German friends (and those that borrow their written language, eg
Switzerland) like to mash a bunch of words into one uber-word.  This
can be hell on your wordwrapping routine if you're using smallish
dialog boxes; you'll need to work with the translaters to have them
indicate where legal places for hypanated breaks at the end of the lines
should go.  As you can tell I've been through this before...

Makes me glad I'm an American.  Our language may be convulted, but
at least it only uses 26 characters which rarely require any embelishment.
<Texas accent> We don't need no steeeeeeeeeken unicode! </Texas accent>

Adam W.