Re: Inputting UTF8 in Emacs

[uzibalqa]

On Sunday, December 17th, 2023 at 5:43 AM, Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:


> > Date: Sat, 16 Dec 2023 17:22:25 +0000
> > From: uzibalqa uzibalqa@proton.me
> > Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> > 
> > > This is not what "C-x 8 RET" is for. You want a command that shows
> > > Unicode characters by Unicode blocks, and then allows inserting some
> > > character. I'm sure someone has already written something like that,
> > > so maybe search the various ELPAs.
> > 
> > Eli. Could we have a list of Unicode Black Names, so one could do
> > 
> > C-x 8 RET BLOCK-NAME TAB TAB M-<DOWN>
> 
> 
> We could have anything, but someone will have to write the code, and
> we will then need to decide that the addition is important enough to
> have it bundled with Emacs (as opposed to having a separate package
> that interested users will need to install). AFAIR, currently Emacs
> doesn't even know the names of the blocks, because it is not important
> for supporting Unicode characters in Emacs.

It would be easier for insertions when knowing the name is not straightforward.

I can work on making the block names if I get some hints on what has to be done.
Or perhaps a schematic I can follow.  Does this require lot of elisp experience?
 
> > In the last few years, there have been many users who would like to
> > easily insert UTF8 characters, even though this has not been very
> > well received by some developers who have been in the field for a long
> > time (e.g. regarding Emojis where some prefer text-based communication).
> 
> 
> For Emoji, we do have a feature that allows to display and select the
> one you need: "M-x emoji-list". That's because Emoji are pictures,
> and their textual description is much harder to understand than to
> pick up the picture you want.
> 
> > For people in mathematics like myself, easily inserting UTF8 characters
> > would be considered a valuable innovation.
> 
> 
> If you are interested in mathematical symbols, then this should do:
> 
> C-x 8 RET mathematical TAB TAB
> 
> then keep hitting TAB to scroll through the list, or use M-<DOWN> and
> 
> M-<UP> keys.

Mathematical Symbols function like Emojis, it is easier to pick up the 
mathematical symbol you want rather than using their textual description.