Internet DRAFT - draft-slevinski-formal-signwriting

draft-slevinski-formal-signwriting







Sutton-Slevinski Collaboration                              S. Slevinski
Internet-Draft                                 www.sutton-signwriting.io
Intended status: Informational                           30 January 2022
Expires: 3 August 2022


                           Formal SignWriting
                 draft-slevinski-formal-signwriting-09

Abstract

   Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written
   sign language, ISO 15924 script code "Sgnw".  It has been applied by
   a wide and deep international community of sign language users.
   Sutton SignWriting is an international standard for writing sign
   languages by hand or with computers.  From education to research,
   from entertainment to religion, SignWriting has proven useful because
   people are using it to write signed languages.

   Formal SignWriting is one particular computerized design for Sutton
   SignWriting that envisions a sign as a two part word.  Each word is
   written as a string of characters that can be recognized and
   processed by regular expressions.  The design has been optimized for
   display, searching, sorting, text flow, and other character
   processing.

   Where as American Sign Language is a natural language, Formal
   SignWriting is a formal language.  A formal language uses words and
   punctuation to form text.  Each word is expressed as a string of
   characters.  Well-formed words are governed by the structural rules
   of the grammar.  A formal language is useful in mathematics, computer
   science, and linguistics.

   This memo defines a conceptual character encoding map for the
   Internet community.  It is published for reference, examination,
   implementation, and evaluation.  Distribution of this memo is
   unlimited.

Status of This Memo

   This Internet-Draft is submitted in full conformance with the
   provisions of BCP 78 and BCP 79.

   Internet-Drafts are working documents of the Internet Engineering
   Task Force (IETF).  Note that other groups may also distribute
   working documents as Internet-Drafts.  The list of current Internet-
   Drafts is at https://datatracker.ietf.org/drafts/current/.




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   This Internet-Draft will expire on 3 August 2022.

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Table of Contents

   1.  Sutton SignWriting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   3
     1.1.  Script  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   4
     1.2.  Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
   2.  Formal SignWriting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
     2.1.  Design Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       2.1.1.  Complete  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   5
       2.1.2.  Universal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       2.1.3.  Empowering  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       2.1.4.  Possible  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
     2.2.  Characters  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   6
       2.2.1.  Formal SignWriting in ASCII (FSW) . . . . . . . . . .   7
       2.2.2.  SignWriting in Unicode (SWU)  . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
     2.3.  Building Blocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       2.3.1.  Regular Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   7
       2.3.2.  Token Patterns  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   8
       2.3.3.  Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   9
       2.3.4.  Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  13
     2.4.  Two-Part Word . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
       2.4.1.  Spatial Signbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  14
       2.4.2.  Temporal Prefix . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  18
     2.5.  Styling String  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  19
       2.5.1.  Entire Sign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  20
       2.5.2.  Individual Symbols  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  22
       2.5.3.  SVG Class Names and ID  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  23
     2.6.  Query Language  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24



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       2.6.1.  Major Sections  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  24
       2.6.2.  Common Elements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  25
       2.6.3.  Searching the Temporal Prefix . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
       2.6.4.  Searching the Spatial Signbox . . . . . . . . . . . .  26
       2.6.5.  Regular Expressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  27
   3.  Technology Integration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
     3.1.  Fonts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       3.1.1.  Windows, Linux, and Mac . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       3.1.2.  Mac and iOS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  29
       3.1.3.  Android . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
     3.2.  Fonts and CSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  30
     3.3.  Scalar Vector Graphics  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
       3.3.1.  Font Based SVG  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  31
       3.3.2.  Stand Alone SVG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  32
     3.4.  HTML and CSS  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
       3.4.1.  Centering and Sizing  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  33
       3.4.2.  Coloring Symbols and Signs  . . . . . . . . . . . . .  34
       3.4.3.  Other Effects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
       3.4.4.  Sentences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  35
     3.5.  JavaScript Packages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       3.5.1.  @sutton-signwriting/core  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       3.5.2.  @sutton-signwriting/font-ttf  . . . . . . . . . . . .  36
       3.5.3.  @sutton-signwriting/font-db . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
       3.5.4.  @sutton-signwriting/sgnw-components . . . . . . . . .  37
   4.  Transformations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  37
     4.1.  Formal SignWriting to Query String  . . . . . . . . . . .  37
     4.2.  Query String to Regular Expression  . . . . . . . . . . .  38
   5.  Unicode Considerations  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
     5.1.  Unicode Technical Committee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
     5.2.  SignWriting in Unicode 8  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  39
       5.2.1.  Official Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  40
       5.2.2.  17 New Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  41
     5.3.  SignWriting in Unicode (SWU)  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
   6.  IANA Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
   7.  Security Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
   8.  References  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  42
   Appendix A.  A brief history  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
     A.1.  SignWriting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  48
     A.2.  Steve Slevinski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  49
     A.3.  Financial Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
   Appendix B.  SignWriting General Interest . . . . . . . . . . . .  50
   Appendix C.  Proposed Null Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
     C.1.  Sorting without the Null Symbol . . . . . . . . . . . . .  51
     C.2.  Sorting with the Null Symbol  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52
   Author's Address  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  52

1.  Sutton SignWriting




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M548x535S10019452x474S10011476x465S2ea04481x501S2ea48459x509S29b0b514x500S15a0a515x473S1eb20524x489

   U+1D803 U+1D936 U+1D929 U+4001A U+1D8D6 U+1D8EC U+40012 U+1D8EE
   U+1D8E3 U+4B7C5 U+1D8F3 U+1D907 U+4B809 U+1D8DD U+1D90F U+49A2C
   U+1D914 U+1D906 U+421CB U+1D915 U+1D8EB U+45841 U+1D91E U+1D8FB
   ("𝠃𝤶𝤩񀀚𝣖𝣬񀀒𝣮𝣣񋟅𝣳𝤇񋠉𝣝𝤏񉨬𝤔𝤆񂇋𝤕𝣫񅡁𝤞𝣻")

   Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written
   sign language.  It has been applied by a wide and deep international
   community of sign languages including: American Sign Language,
   Arabian Sign Languages, Australian Sign Language, Bolivian Sign
   Language, Brazilian Sign Language, British Sign Language, Catalan
   Sign Language, Colombian Sign Language, Czech Sign Language, Danish
   Sign Language, Dutch Sign Language, Ethiopian Sign Language, Finnish
   Sign Language, Flemish Sign Language, French-Belgian Sign Language,
   French Sign Language, German Sign Language, Greek Sign Language,
   Irish Sign Language, Italian Sign Language, Japanese Sign Language,
   Malawi Sign Language, Malaysian Sign Language, Maltese Sign Language,
   Mexican Sign Language, Nepalese Sign Language, New Zealand Sign
   Language, Nicaraguan Sign Language, Norwegian Sign Language, Peruvian
   Sign Language, Philippines Sign Language, Polish Sign Language,
   Portuguese Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, South African Sign
   Language, Spanish Sign Language, Swedish Sign Language, Swiss Sign
   Language, Taiwanese Sign Language, and Tunisian Sign Language.

   Sutton SignWriting is an international standard for writing sign
   languages by hand or with computers.  From education to research,
   from entertainment to religion, SignWriting has proven useful because
   people are using it to write signed languages.

1.1.  Script

   Sign language is vastly different than spoken language.  Instead of
   the sequential sounds of the voice, there is a 3-dimensional space
   with simultaneous action.  Sutton SignWriting creates 2-dimensional
   writing that is visually iconic and full of featural information.
   This is true on the symbol level and on the sign level.  A symbol
   represents phonemic information and is full of featural information
   to better understand the phonemes of the symbols.  A sign is a
   2-dimensional arrangement of symbols and is full of featural
   information to better understand the morphemes of the signs.

   Punctuation is represented by a single symbol and separates a series
   of signs into structured sentences.  Line breaks should not occur
   before punctuation.






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   When written vertically, SignWriting can use 3 different lanes: left,
   middle, and right.  The middle lane is the default lane and
   punctuation is always used in the middle lane.  No matter the lane,
   the center of a sign is aligned with the center of the lane.  The
   left and right lanes are used to represent body weight shifts and are
   represented by a horizontal offset from the middle lane.  Body weight
   shifts are important to the grammar of sign languages, used for two
   different grammatical aspects: 1) role shifting during sign language
   storytelling, and 2) spatial comparisons of two items under
   discussion.  One "role" or "item" is placed on the right side of the
   body (right lane), and the other on the left side of the body (left
   lane), and the weight shifts back and forth between the two, with the
   narrator in the middle (middle lane).

1.2.  Symbols

   The Sutton SignWriting Symbols are the building blocks of Sutton
   SignWriting.  The symbols are arranged in 2 dimensions to create the
   sign images.  The symbols are organized with a 16-bit coded character
   set and a layered hierarchy.  The symbols are defined in the
   International SignWriting Alphabet 2010 (ISWA 2010).  The ISWA 2010
   is a product of the Sutton-Slevinski collaboration.

2.  Formal SignWriting

   Formal SignWriting is one particular computerized encoding for Sutton
   SignWriting.  The design is based on character processing with
   regular expressions.  With Formal SignWriting, each sign is written
   as a two-part word of time and space.

   Where as American Sign Language is a natural language, Formal
   SignWriting is a formal language.  A formal language uses words and
   punctuation to form text.  Each word is expressed as a string of
   characters.  Well-formed words are governed by the structural rules
   of the grammar.  A formal language is useful in mathematics, computer
   science, and linguistics.

2.1.  Design Principles

   Formal SignWriting was created using four design principles:
   completeness, universality, empowerment, and possibility.

2.1.1.  Complete

   Sutton SignWriting is a complex script with unique requirements and
   processing.  Formal SignWriting supports all of the structures
   inherent to the script.




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2.1.2.  Universal

   Sutton SignWriting can be used to write any sign language, natural or
   constructed.  Formal SignWriting supports all sign languages without
   requiring the addition of new characters or updated fonts.  Whereas
   chinese encoded text is an ever expanding set of ideographs which
   require new fonts and possiblly new characters, SignWriting uses a
   closed set for characters with completed fonts that do not need to be
   updated.

2.1.3.  Empowering

   Sutton SignWriting is flexible enough to let each writer decide how
   they want to write their signs.  Formal SignWriting enable the
   writers to decide for themselves the spelling of their respective
   signs.

2.1.4.  Possible

   Sutton SignWriting is a practical script that makes it possible to
   write sign language.  Formal SignWriting is a practical encoding
   because it works with existing font technologies across operating
   systems.

2.2.  Characters

   Any sign can be written as a string of characters.  Formal
   SignWriting has two sets of characters that can be used: Formal
   SignWriting in ASCII (FSW) and SignWriting in Unicode (SWU).  These
   sets are isomorphic with an easy bi-directional conversion between
   the two sets.

   +=================+==================+====================+
   | Description     | FSW Characters   | SWU Characters     |
   +=================+==================+====================+
   | Sequence Marker | A                | U+1D800            |
   +-----------------+------------------+--------------------+
   | Signbox Markers | B, L, M, R       | U+1D801 to U+1D804 |
   +-----------------+------------------+--------------------+
   | Numbers         | 250 to 749       | U+1D80C to U+1D9FF |
   +-----------------+------------------+--------------------+
   | Symbols         | S10000 to S38b07 | U+40001 to U+4F428 |
   +-----------------+------------------+--------------------+

                             Table 1






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2.2.1.  Formal SignWriting in ASCII (FSW)

   Formal SignWriting in ASCII (FSW) was released in January 2012 and
   has been stable since.  FSW only uses characters from the ASCII
   subset of "ABLMRS0123456789xabcdef".

2.2.2.  SignWriting in Unicode (SWU)

   SignWriting in Unicode (SWU) was first published in October 2016 and
   officially submitted to the Unicode Technical Committee in July 2017.
   SWU is not part of the Unicode standard.

   SignWriting in Unicode (SWU) is an experimental Unicode design that
   is supported by the Sutton SignWriting resources.  This alternate
   encoding overwrites the Sutton SignWriting block in Unicode and uses
   plane 4 for the SignWriting symbols.

2.3.  Building Blocks

   The mathematical words of Formal SignWriting are plain text strings
   of characters from either character set: Formal SignWriting in ASCII
   (FSW) or SignWriting in Unicode (SWU).

2.3.1.  Regular Expressions

   Regular Expressions define string matching criteria.  Regular
   Expressions offer fast processing and wide support on the various
   platforms.

   Formal SignWriting is defined with regular expressions.  Formal
   languages and regular expressions are used to solve fundamental
   problems.

   Regular Expression Basics

   +============+======================+=====================+
   | Characters | Description          | Example             |
   +============+======================+=====================+
   | *          | Match a literal 0 or | ABC* matches AB,    |
   |            | more times           | ABC, ABCC, ...      |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | +          | Match a literal 1 or | ABC+ matches ABC,   |
   |            | more times           | ABCC, ABCCC, ...    |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | ?          | Match a literal 0 or | ABC? matches AB or  |
   |            | 1 times              | ABC                 |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | {#}        | Match a literal "#"  | AB{2} matches ABB   |



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   |            | times                |                     |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | [ ]        | Match any single     | [ABC] matches A, B, |
   |            | literal from a list  | or C                |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | [ - ]      | Match any single     | [A-C] matches A, B, |
   |            | literal in a range   | or C                |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | ( )        | Creates a group for  | A(BC)+ matches ABC, |
   |            | matching             | ABCBC, ABCBCBC, ... |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | ( | )      | Matches one of       | (AB|BC|CD) will     |
   |            | several alternatives | match AB, BC, or CD |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+
   | (?: )      | Creates a non-       | A(?:BC) will match  |
   |            | capturing group      | ABC as one group    |
   +------------+----------------------+---------------------+

                             Table 2

2.3.2.  Token Patterns

   The Formal SignWriting encoding model makes explicit those features
   which can be effectively and efficiently processed.  The mathematical
   names are structured with 11 different tokens.  They can be grouped
   in 4 layers: the 5 structural makers (A, B, L, M, R), the 3 base
   symbol ranges (w, s, P), the 2 modifier indexes (i, o), and the
   numbers (n).

   The Tokens of Formal SignWriting

   +=======+===============================+
   | Token | Description                   |
   +=======+===============================+
   | A     | Sequence Marker               |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | B     | Signbox Marker                |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | L     | Left Lane Marker              |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | M     | Middle Lane Marker            |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | R     | Right Lane Marker             |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | w     | Writing BaseSymbols           |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | s     | Detailed Location BaseSymbols |
   +-------+-------------------------------+



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   | P     | Punctuation BaseSymbols       |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | i     | Fill Modifiers                |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | o     | Rotation Modifiers            |
   +-------+-------------------------------+
   | n     | Number from 250 to 749        |
   +-------+-------------------------------+

                    Table 3

   These tokens are used in patterns to form written sign language.

2.3.3.  Symbols

   Symbols can be described with 3 tokens: base symbol, fill modifier,
   and rotation modifier.


































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   Symbol Tokens

   +=========+========================================================+
   | Token   | Description                                            |
   | Pattern |                                                        |
   +=========+========================================================+
   | w       | Writing BaseSymbols.                                   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | s       | Detailed Location BaseSymbols.                         |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | P       | Punctuation BaseSymbols.                               |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | i       | Fill Modifiers.                                        |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | o       | Rotation Modifiers.                                    |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | wio     | A writing symbol as 3 tokens of writing base, fill     |
   |         | modifier and rotation modifier.  Writing symbols can   |
   |         | be used in the spatial signbox or the temporal prefix. |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | [ws]io  | A writing symbol or a detailed location symbol as 3    |
   |         | tokens of base, fill modifier, and rotation modifier.  |
   |         | Writing symbols and detail location symbols can be     |
   |         | used in the temporal prefix.                           |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | Pio     | A punctuation symbol as 3 tokens of punctuation base,  |
   |         | fill modifier, and rotation modifier.  Punctuation     |
   |         | symbols divide signs into sentences.                   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+

                                 Table 4

   There are a variety of symbol types that are used for different
   purposes.

   Symbol Types and Descriptions

   +=============+=============================================+
   | Type        | Description                                 |
   +=============+=============================================+
   | all symbols | All symbols used in Formal SignWriting.     |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | writing     | Symbols that can be used in the spatial     |
   |             | signbox or the temporal prefix.             |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | hand        | Various handshapes                          |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | movement    | Contact symbols, small finger movements,    |



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   |             | straight arrows, curved arrows and circles. |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | dynamic     | Dynamic symbols are used to give the        |
   |             | "feeling" or "tempo" to movement.           |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | head        | Symbols for the head and face.              |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | hcenter     | Used to determine the horizontal center of  |
   |             | a sign.  Same as the head type.             |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | vcenter     | Use to determine the vertical center of a   |
   |             | sign.  Includes the head and trunk types.   |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | trunk       | Symbols for torso movement, shoulders, and  |
   |             | hips.                                       |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | limb        | Symbols for limbs and fingers.              |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | location    | Detailed location symbols can only be used  |
   |             | in the temporal prefix.                     |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | punctuation | Punctual symbols are used to divide signs   |
   |             | into sentences.                             |
   +-------------+---------------------------------------------+

                              Table 5

   Symbol types occur in specific ranges depending on the characters
   involved.

   Symbol Types and Ranges

   +=============+=============+==================+
   | Type        | FSW         | SWU              |
   +=============+=============+==================+
   | all symbols | S100 - S38b | U+40001 -U+4F480 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | writing     | S100 - S37e | U+40001 -U+4EFA0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | hand        | S100 - 204  | U+40001 -U+461E0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | movement    | S205 - S2f6 | U+461E1 -U+4BCA0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | dynamic     | S2f7 - S2fe | U+4BCA1 -U+4BFA0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | head        | S2ff - S36c | U+4BFA1 -U+4E8E0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | hcenter     | S2ff - S36c | U+4BFA1 -U+4E8E0 |



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   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | vcenter     | S2ff - S375 | U+4BFA1 -U+4EC40 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | trunk       | S36d - S375 | U+4E8E1 -U+4EC40 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | limb        | S376 - S37e | U+4EC41 -U+4EFA0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | location    | S37f - S386 | U+4EFA1 -U+4F2A0 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+
   | punctuation | S387 - S38b | U+4F2A1 -U+4F480 |
   +-------------+-------------+------------------+

                       Table 6

2.3.3.1.  FSW Symbols

   Symbol keys are 6 characters long.  The first character of a symbol
   key is always "S".  The next 3 characters identify the symbol base.
   The last two characters identify the fill and rotation modifiers
   respectively.

   Symbol Key Definition

   +================================+=======================+
   | Regular Expression             | Description           |
   +================================+=======================+
   | S                              | Start of symbol key   |
   +--------------------------------+-----------------------+
   | [123][0-9a-f]{2}               | Symbol key base       |
   +--------------------------------+-----------------------+
   | [0-5]                          | Fill modifier         |
   +--------------------------------+-----------------------+
   | [0-9a-f]                       | Rotation modifier     |
   +--------------------------------+-----------------------+
   | S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f] | Symbol key definition |
   +--------------------------------+-----------------------+

                            Table 7

2.3.3.2.  SWU Symbols

   The 37,811 symbols of the International SignWriting Alphabet 2010 are
   uniquely identified with Unicode characters in the range U+40001 to
   U+4F428.

   A simple formula transforms a symbol key into a codepoint.  Given a
   symbol key as variable "key", in JavaScript the function is defined
   as:



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      var code = ((parseInt(key.slice(1,4),16) - 256) * 96) +
      ((parseInt(key.slice(4,5),16))*16) + parseInt(key.slice(5,6),16) +
      1;

2.3.4.  Numbers

   The numbers encode the ruler principle with characters.  The ruler
   principle is built in automatically for scripts written sequentially
   in one dimension.  The number characters are needed to specify the
   spatial relationship between symbols.

   Both FSW and SWU use a restricted range of 500 numbers between 250
   and 749.

   Cartesian Coordinates can be described with 2 tokens: number and
   number.  These numbers represent the X and Y coordinates
   respectively.

   Coordinate Tokens

   +================+=============================================+
   | Token Patterns | Description                                 |
   +================+=============================================+
   | n              | Number from 250 to 749                      |
   +----------------+---------------------------------------------+
   | nn             | Coordinate with X and Y values as 2 numbers |
   +----------------+---------------------------------------------+

                               Table 8

2.3.4.1.  FSW Numbers

   Formal SignWriting in ASCII has two definitions for a number.  The
   more general definition simply defines 3 digits together with a
   potential range of 1000.  A more explicit definition correctly
   restricts the numbers to 500 possibilities in the 250 to 749 range.
   The general coordinate definition is adequate for processing.

   An X,Y coordinate is created by using the letter "x" to join two FSW
   numbers.

   General 3 digit number definition:  [0-9]{3}

   General coordinate definition:  [0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3}

   Explicit number definition from 250 to 749:  (2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{
      2}|7[0-4][0-9])




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   Explicit coordinate definition:
      (2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{2}|7[0-4][0-9])x(2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{2}
      |7[0-4][0-9])

2.3.4.2.  SWU Numbers

   SignWriting in Unicode has a single definition for a number.  Each
   number is uniquely identified with Unicode characters in the range
   U+1D80C to U+1D9FF.  A coordinate is defined as 2 numbers together.

2.4.  Two-Part Word

   Formal SignWriting envisions a sign as a two-part word of time and
   space.  The two-dimensional appearance of a sign is written in the
   spatial signbox as an objective arrangement.  The one-dimensional
   order of a sign is written in the temporal prefix as a subjective
   analysis.

2.4.1.  Spatial Signbox

   The spatial signbox is a two-dimensional cluster of symbols.  The
   position of each symbol is determined by the writer and defined using
   Cartesian Coordinates that represent the top-left of the symbol
   image.  Formal numbers range from 250 to 749.

   2-dimensional space does not have a normative 1-dimensional order.
   When symbols overlap, the relative order of the overlapping symbols
   is important.  Symbols written first appear underneath symbols that
   are written later.  Otherwise, the exact string order of the spatial
   symbols is unpredictable.  The spatial signbox is neither formatting
   nor style and represents meaning that is beyond the temporal prefix.

              Y Axis
                | 250
                |
                |
                |
                |
                |
   X Axis       |
     -----------+------------
     250        |         749
                |
                |
                |
                |
                |
                | 749



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   The Spatial Signbox can be described with 8 tokens.


















































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   Spatial Signbox Tokens

   +=================+==========================================+
   | Token Pattern   | Description                              |
   +=================+==========================================+
   | B               | Signbox Marker                           |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | L               | Left Lane Marker                         |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | M               | Middle Lane Marker                       |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | R               | Right Lane Marker                        |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | w               | Writing BaseSymbols                      |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | i               | Fill Modifiers                           |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | o               | Rotation Modifiers                       |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | n               | Number from 250 to 749                   |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | wio             | A writing symbol as 3 tokens of writing  |
   |                 | base, fill modifier and rotation         |
   |                 | modifier                                 |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | nn              | Coordinate with X and Y values as 2      |
   |                 | numbers                                  |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | wionn           | A spatial symbol as 5 tokens, with 3     |
   |                 | tokens for a writing symbol and 2 tokens |
   |                 | for coordinates of top left placement    |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | (wionn)*        | Zero or more spatial symbols             |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | Bnn(wionn)*     | A Signbox with a preprocessed maximum    |
   |                 | coordinate and a list of spatial symbols |
   |                 | used for horizontal writing              |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | [LMR]           | A lane marker: either left, middle or    |
   |                 | right.                                   |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+
   | [LMR]nn(wionn)* | A Signbox in either the left, middle, or |
   |                 | right lane with a preprocessed maximum   |
   |                 | coordinate and a list of spatial symbols |
   |                 | used for vertical writing                |
   +-----------------+------------------------------------------+

                              Table 9



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   The spatial signbox is assigned to a lane, has a preprocessed maximum
   coordinate and zero or more writing symbols with X and Y coordinates
   for each symbol.

2.4.1.1.  Bounding Box

   The symbols do not have a consistent width or height.  The center of
   a symbol can be safely assumed to be at half-width and half-height.
   A bounding box for a symbol is based on the symbol width and height.
   Each symbol has a defined width and height [SWFontSource] in a text
   file with 37,811 lines.  Alternately, the symbol width and height can
   be calculated by analyzing the glyphs in a TTF font file, using
   JavaScript or other language.

   The bounding box of a sign is a tight box around the symbols.  The
   bounding box is used to determine the width and height of a sign.

   The bounding box of a sign consists of four values: Minimum X,
   Minimum Y, Maximum X and Maximum Y.  The values of the bounding box
   is taken straight from the coordinates in a Formal SignWriting word.

2.4.1.2.  Maximum Coordinate

   The maximum coordinate for a Signbox is pre-calculated to simplify
   layout for width, height, and center.  For each symbol, the width of
   height of that symbol is added to the coordinate position of that
   symbol.  These new coordinate values represent the bottom-right
   coordinate of each symbol bounding box.  The maximum X value is
   joined with the maximum Y value to determine the maximum coordinate.

2.4.1.3.  Centering a Sign

   To simplify layout and improve 2-dimensional searching, every sign
   has a normalized center based on symbol type, size, and mathematical
   formula.  The vertical center is based on the center of the bounding
   box around the head symbols.  The horizontal center is based on the
   center of the bounding box around the head and trunk symbols.  If a
   sign doesn't contain head or trunk symbols, then the bounding box of
   all symbols is used.  For the symbol ranges see Table 6

   Once the center of a sign has been determined, the symbols are moved
   so that the center is coordinate 500,500.









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2.4.2.  Temporal Prefix

   The temporal prefix is a one-dimensional list of symbols that is
   written by an author.  The arrangement of the symbols is based on a
   particular theory of sorting.  The order of the symbols in the
   temporal prefix is significant because sorting is possible with a
   binary string comparison.  The temporal prefix is neither formatting
   nor style and represents meaning not found in the spatial signbox.

   Signs are written in 2-dimensional space which does not have a
   normative 1-dimensional order.  Any 1-dimensional order of
   2-dimensional space is subjective.  Some 1-dimensional orders may be
   canonical according to a particular theory, but there are a variety
   of theories on setting a 1-dimensional order.

   The temporal prefix will use the same symbols that are used in the
   spatial signbox, but it does not need to use all of them and it is
   not limited to only those symbols.  The temporal prefix is a list of
   writing symbols and/or detailed location symbols that identify
   temporal order and additional analysis.  A valid sequence must
   contain at least one symbol and can not contain punctuation.

   The temporal prefix allows for sorting that is universally supported
   through binary string comparison.

   There are several theories on the best way to structure a temporal
   prefix.  The most productive is based on the SignSpelling Sequence
   theory of Valerie Sutton.  A temporal prefix is structured as a
   series of beginning handshapes, followed by transitional movements
   and dynamics that lead to the next set of handshapes.  This pattern
   continues until the end of the sign.  The last section of the
   temporal prefix should contain symbols of type "head", "trunk", and
   "limb".

   Detailed location symbols of type "location" can be used in a
   temporal prefix, but are rarely (if ever) needed for general writing.

   A temporal prefix can be described with 5 tokens.

   Temporal Prefix Tokens

   +================+===================================+
   | Token Patterns | Description                       |
   +================+===================================+
   | A              | Sequence Marker                   |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | w              | Writing BaseSymbols               |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+



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   | s              | Detailed Location BaseSymbols     |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | i              | Fill Modifiers                    |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | o              | Rotation Modifiers                |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | (A([ws]io)+)?  | An optional temporal prefix to be |
   |                | used as a prefix for a Signbox    |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+

                          Table 10

   The temporal prefix starts with a sequence marker and includes an
   ordered list of writing symbols and detailed locations.

2.5.  Styling String

   The styling string of Formal SignWriting uses a lite markup to define
   a variety of styling options.  The styling string is the same for FSW
   and SWU.  The entire sign can be customized for padding, coloring,
   and size.  Individual symbols within a sign can be customized for
   coloring and size.  For SVG output, class names and IDs can be
   defined.  A styling string can be added to the end of any Formal
   SignWriting string to style a particular sign.

   Colors can be written as CSS color names or as color hex values.

   CSS Color Names:  [a-zA-Z]+

   Color Hex Values:  [0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?

   The styling string is divided into 3 sections: one for the entire
   sign, one for individual symbols, and one for SVG class names and ID.
   The styling string starts with a single dash, after which is the
   section about the entire sign.  A second dash, if present, marks the
   start of the section about the individual symbols.  A third dash, if
   present, marks the start of the section about the SVG class names and
   ID.  The order of the styling options is important.

   Styling String:
      -C?(P[0-9]{2})?(G_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-
      Z]+)_)?(D_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+)(,([0-9a-fA-
      F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-
      Z]+))?_)?(Z([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?|x))?(-(D[0-9]{2}_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-
      9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+)(,([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-
      Z]+))?_)*)?(--?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}( -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-
      Z0-9-]{0,100})*!([a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}!)?)?




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2.5.1.  Entire Sign

   There are several options for styling an entire sign.

   C  Colorize

   P  Padding

   G  Background

   D  Detail colors

   Z  Zoom level

2.5.1.1.  Colorize

   Colorizing a sign will set the color of each symbol based on its
   classification.

   Hand  0000CC

   Movement  CC0000

   Dynamic  FF0099

   Head  006600

   Body  000000

   Detailed Location  884411

   Punctuation  FF9900

   +================+==================================+
   | Styling String | Description                      |
   +================+==================================+
   | -C             | Colorize the symbols of the sign |
   +----------------+----------------------------------+

                          Table 11

2.5.1.2.  Padding

   Padding is applied around the entire sign.  A two-digit number is
   used to set the padding.






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   +================+================================+
   | Styling String | Description                    |
   +================+================================+
   | -P01           | A padding of 1 around the sign |
   +----------------+--------------------------------+

                         Table 12

2.5.1.3.  Background

   By default, the background of a sign is transparent.  The background
   color can be set with a CSS color name or with a color hex value.
   The color name or value must be surrounded by underscores.

   +================+===================================+
   | Styling String | Description                       |
   +================+===================================+
   | -G_lightblue_  | Background color of light blue.   |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | -G_f00_        | Background color as 3 hex values. |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+
   | -G_ff0000_     | Background color as 6 hex values. |
   +----------------+-----------------------------------+

                          Table 13

2.5.1.4.  Detail Colors

   By default, each symbol has a line color of black and a fill color of
   white.  The line color for all of the symbols can be set with a CSS
   color name or with a color hex value.  The color name or value must
   be surrounded by underscores.  Setting the fill color is optional.
   To set the fill color, put a comma and the fill color after the line
   color but before the closing underscore.

   +================+================================================+
   | Styling String | Description                                    |
   +================+================================================+
   | -D_red_        | Line color of red.                             |
   +----------------+------------------------------------------------+
   | -D_red,yellow_ | Line color of red with a fill color of yellow. |
   +----------------+------------------------------------------------+

                                 Table 14







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2.5.1.5.  Zoom Level

   By default, a sign is set to zoom level 1.  The zoom level can be set
   with an integer or a decimal number.

   Alternatively, the zoom level can be set to lower-case 'x', for
   extendable.  The SVG created will not specify the width or height, so
   that the sign image will fill whatever container it is placed inside.

   +================+==========================+
   | Styling String | Description              |
   +================+==========================+
   | -Z2            | Zoom level of 2          |
   +----------------+--------------------------+
   | -Z15.7         | Zoom level of 15.7       |
   +----------------+--------------------------+
   | -Zx            | Zoom level of extendable |
   +----------------+--------------------------+

                      Table 15

2.5.2.  Individual Symbols

   There is one option for styling individual symbols.  Individual
   symbols are identified by a two-digit number, which identifies the
   order the symbol appears in the Signbox.

   D  Detail colors

2.5.2.1.  Detail Colors

   By default, each symbol has a line color of black and a fill color of
   white.  The line color for an individual symbol can be set with a CSS
   color name or with a color hex value.  The color name or value must
   be surrounded by underscores.  Setting the fill color is optional.
   To set the fill color, put a comma and the fill color after the line
   color but before the closing underscore.














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   +======================+====================================+
   | Styling String       | Description                        |
   +======================+====================================+
   | --D01_red_           | First symbol line color of red.    |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------+
   | --D01_red,yellow_    | First symbol line color of red     |
   |                      | with a fill color of yellow.       |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------+
   | --D01_red_D02_green_ | First symbol line color of red and |
   |                      | second symbol line color of green. |
   +----------------------+------------------------------------+

                              Table 16

2.5.3.  SVG Class Names and ID

   When using SVG, there are two additional styling options of class
   names and ID.

   {class names}!  SVG Class Names

   {ID}!  SVG ID

   Both class names and ID use a restricted ASCII subset.

   class names  -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}( -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-
      Z0-9-]{0,100})*

   ID  [a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}

   Each SVG can be created with a list of class names separated by
   spaces, ending in an exclamation (!) mark.  After the class names
   exclamation mark, an ID can be written followed by another
   exclamation mark.

















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   +======================+==================================+
   | Styling String       | Description                      |
   +======================+==================================+
   | ---glowing!          | A class name of "glowing"        |
   +----------------------+----------------------------------+
   | ---flashing primary! | Two class names of "flashing"    |
   |                      | and "primary".                   |
   +----------------------+----------------------------------+
   | ---!cursor!          | SVG created with an ID of        |
   |                      | "cursor"                         |
   +----------------------+----------------------------------+
   | ---flashing!cursor!  | SVG created with a class name of |
   |                      | "flashing" and an ID of "cursor" |
   +----------------------+----------------------------------+

                             Table 17

2.6.  Query Language

   The query language of Formal SignWriting allows for precise searching
   of signs written in either FSW or SWU.  A query string is a concise
   representation for a much larger and detailed set of regular
   expressions.  The regular expressions can be used to quickly and
   accurately search large files and databases containing Formal
   SignWriting.

   A filter and repeat pattern of searching is used as a series of match
   criteria.  A file, database, or text input is searched using a
   sequence of steps.  Each step applies a single match criteria.
   Matching results are collated and the next search criteria is
   applied.  The pattern of searching the previous results continues
   until all regular expressions have been used.

   The query language of Formal SignWriting is different for FSW and
   SWU, but allows for the same searching options.  Query strings
   contain three major sections: prefix, signbox, and styling.  The
   prefix section and the signbox section mostly use the same elements.

2.6.1.  Major Sections

   There are three major sections of the query string: the prefix, the
   signbox, and the styling string.

   Query Language Sections

   +=======+================+======================================+
   | Token | Name           | Description                          |
   +=======+================+======================================+



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   | Q     | Query marker   | The start of a query string          |
   +-------+----------------+--------------------------------------+
   | P     | Prefix marker  | The searching of the temporal prefix |
   +-------+----------------+--------------------------------------+
   | X     | Signbox marker | The searching of the spatial signbox |
   +-------+----------------+--------------------------------------+
   | Y     | Styling string | Include the styling string in search |
   |       | marker         | results                              |
   +-------+----------------+--------------------------------------+

                                Table 18

   A query string always starts with the query marker (Q), followed by
   an optional prefix marker (P), followed by an optional signbox marker
   (X), followed by an optional styling string marker.

   Full query string definition:  QP?X?Y?

2.6.2.  Common Elements

   There are several common elements used for searching the prefix and
   the signbox.

   Query Common Elements

   +=======+====================+=================================+
   | Token | Name               | Description                     |
   +=======+====================+=================================+
   | B     | Symbol base marker | A symbol indicator that doesn't |
   |       |                    | specify fill or rotation        |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | f     | Fill modifier      | A modifier that specifies a     |
   |       |                    | symbol fill                     |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | r     | Rotation modifier  | A modifier that specifies a     |
   |       |                    | symbol rotation                 |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | S     | Symbol marker      | A marker that indicates a       |
   |       |                    | symbol                          |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | R     | Range marker       | A marker that starts a range    |
   |       |                    | definition                      |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | I     | Item marker        | An item can be either a symbol  |
   |       |                    | or a range definition           |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | O     | Or marker          | A marker that connects a series |
   |       |                    | of items                        |



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   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+
   | L     | List marker        | A marker that indicates a list  |
   |       |                    | of connected items              |
   +-------+--------------------+---------------------------------+

                               Table 19

   Common definitions used in the temporal prefix and the spatial
   signbox.

   Symbol definition:  S = Bfr

   Range definition:  RBB

   Item definition:  I = (S|RBB)

   List definition:  L = I(OI)*

2.6.3.  Searching the Temporal Prefix

   Searching the temporal prefix requires two additional tokens.

   Prefix Elements

   +=======+=====================+=============================+
   | Token | Name                | Description                 |
   +=======+=====================+=============================+
   | A     | Prefix start marker | A marker that indicates the |
   |       |                     | start of prefix searching   |
   +-------+---------------------+-----------------------------+
   | T     | Prefix end marker   | A marker that indications   |
   |       |                     | the enf of prefix searching |
   +-------+---------------------+-----------------------------+

                              Table 20

   Definition of temporal prefix searching.

   Prefix searching definition:  P = ((AL+)?T)?

2.6.4.  Searching the Spatial Signbox

   Searching the spatial signbox requires two additional tokens.

   Signbox Elements

   +=======+===================+======================================+
   | Token | Name              | Description                          |



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   +=======+===================+======================================+
   | C     | Coordinate marker | A marker that indicates a coordinate |
   +-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------+
   | V     | Variance marker   | A marker that indicates a custom     |
   |       |                   | variance for location searching      |
   +-------+-------------------+--------------------------------------+

                                 Table 21

   Definition of spatial signbox searching.

   Signbox searching definition:  X = (LC?)*V?

2.6.5.  Regular Expressions

2.6.5.1.  FSW Query Regular Expressions

   FSW Query Elements

   +=====+=========+===================================================+
   |Token|Variable | Regular Expression                                |
   +=====+=========+===================================================+
   |Q    |Q        | Q                                                 |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |B    |base     | [123][0-9a-f]{2}                                  |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |f    |fill     | [0-5u]                                            |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |r    |rotation | [0-9a-fu]                                         |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |S    |symbol   | S${base}${fill}${rotation}                        |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |R    |range    | R${base}${base}                                   |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |I    |item     | (?:${symbol}|${range})                            |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |O    |or       | o                                                 |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |L    |list     | ${item}(?:${or}${item})*                          |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |A    |A        | A                                                 |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |T    |T        | T                                                 |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |P    |prefix   | (?:${A}(?:${list})+)?${T}                         |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |C    |coord    | (?:[0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?                            |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+



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   |X    |signbox  | (?:${list}${coord})*                              |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |V    |var      | V[0-9]+                                           |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |Y    |style    | -                                                 |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+
   |F    |full     | ${Q}(${prefix})?(${signbox})?(${var})?(${style}?) |
   +-----+---------+---------------------------------------------------+

                                  Table 22

2.6.5.2.  SWU Query Regular Expressions

   SWU Query Elements

   +=====+========+==========================================================================================+
   |Token|Variable|Regular Expression                                                                        |
   +=====+========+==========================================================================================+
   |Q    |Q       |Q                                                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |B    |base    |(?:(?:\uD8C0[\uDC01-\uDFFF])|(?:[\uD8C1-\uD8FC][\uDC00-\uDFFF])|(?:\uD8FD[\uDC00-\uDC80]))|
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |f    |fill    |f?                                                                                        |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |r    |rotation|r?                                                                                        |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |S    |symbol  |${base}${fill}${rotation}                                                                 |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |R    |range   |R${base}${base}                                                                           |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |I    |item    |(?:${symbol}|${range})                                                                    |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |O    |or      |o                                                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |L    |list    |${item}(?:${or}${item})*                                                                  |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |A    |A       |A                                                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |T    |T       |T                                                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |P    |prefix  |(?:${A}(?:${list})+)?${T}                                                                 |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |C    |coord   |(?:(?:\uD836[\uDC0C-\uDDFF]){2})?                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |X    |signbox |(?:${list}${coord})*                                                                      |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |V    |var     |V[0-9]+                                                                                   |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+



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   |Y    |style   |-                                                                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
   |F    |full    |${Q}(${prefix})?(${signbox})?(${var})?(${style}?)                                         |
   +-----+--------+------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+

                                  Table 23

3.  Technology Integration

   Formal SignWriting has been specifically designed to integrate with
   standard technology on the phone, tablet, and desktop.

3.1.  Fonts

   The Sutton SignWriting Fonts are available as source SVG and as three
   TrueType Font files.

        Sutton SignWriting Fonts
        Copyright (c) 1974-2017, Center for Sutton Movement Writing, inc
        Licensed under the SIL Open Font License v1.1

   The Sutton SignWriting TrueType fonts are available for download and
   installation.

   Installing the fonts using the instructions below is not required,
   but it will improve the user experience.  If the fonts are not
   installed on the system, CSS declarations will install the fonts in
   the browser cache.

3.1.1.  Windows, Linux, and Mac

   Installation is straight forward for Windows, Linux and Mac. Simply
   download the TrueType fonts and install as usual.

      Sutton SignWriting Line TrueType Font [SWFontLine]

      Sutton SignWriting Fill TrueType Font [SWFontFill]

      Sutton SignWriting One-D TrueType Font [SWFontOneD]

3.1.2.  Mac and iOS

   Installation is possible for Mac OS X and iOS with a configuration
   profile.  The Sutton SignWriting Symbol configuration profile
   includes 2 fonts for SVG: SuttonSignWritingLine and
   SuttonSignWritingFill.  The Sutton SignWriting One configuration
   profile includes the font SuttonSignWritingOneD.  With the
   configuration profile installed, the SignWriting in Unicode (SWU)



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   characters can be used throughout the operating system, even as file
   and folder names.

      Sutton SignWriting Symbol Configuration Profile [SWFontSymbol]

      Sutton SignWriting One Configuration Profile [SWFontOne]

3.1.3.  Android

   Android can not install the fonts directly onto the system.  The CSS
   declarations below will install the fonts in the browser cache.

3.2.  Fonts and CSS

   The TrueType Fonts can be used without installing the fonts on any
   platform by defining two font-face statements.  Simply include the
   following CSS in any HTML page to access the fonts.  Make sure to
   replace the URLs with the fully qualified links for the fonts.

   @font-face {
     font-family: "SuttonSignWritingLine";
     src:
       local('SuttonSignWritingLine'),
       url('https://.../SuttonSignWritingLine.ttf') format('truetype');
   }
   @font-face {
     font-family: "SuttonSignWritingFill";
     src:
       local('SuttonSignWritingFill'),
       url('https://.../SuttonSignWritingFill.ttf') format('truetype');
   }
   @font-face {
     font-family: "SuttonSignWritingOneD";
     src:
       local('SuttonSignWritingOneD'),
       url('https://.../SuttonSignWritingOneD.ttf') format('truetype');
   }

   If the fonts are installed, then the system fonts will be used.  If
   the fonts are not installed when a SignWriting Font page is opened,
   the CSS will cause the fonts to be automatically downloaded to the
   browser's cache on the first visit.  Once the fonts are installed in
   the browser cache, they will remain there until the browser cache is
   emptied.  Any webside that uses this CSS can access the browser
   installed font without requesting a new copy.  The fonts are 18 MB,
   so the first page view make take a few seconds or longer depending on
   your download speed and processor.




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3.3.  Scalar Vector Graphics

   Sutton SignWriting is a 2-dimensional script.  The sign images are
   composed using Scalar Vector Graphic (SVG).

3.3.1.  Font Based SVG

   The conversion of Formal SignWriting to Scalar Vector Graphics
   requires three parts: header, text, and symbols.  Consider the FSW
   string
   "M518x533S1870a489x515S18701482x490S20500508x496S2e734500x468".

3.3.1.1.  SVG Header

   The header section contains the SVG definition along with the width,
   height, and viewbox.  The viewbox is a combination of the minimum X,
   minimum Y, width, and height.

   Minimum X:  482

   Maximum X:  518

   Width:  36

   Minimum Y:  468

   Maximum Y:  533

   Height:  65

   <svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
     width="36" height="65" viewBox="482 468 36 65">

   If the width and height properties are not included, then the
   resulting SVG will automatically expand in size to fill the
   containing element on the screen.

   <svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
     viewBox="482 468 36 65">

3.3.1.2.  SVG Text

   The SVG text section is included to make it possible to copy and
   paste Formal SignWriting strings.  The font-size is set to zero to
   make the text invisible.






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   <text style="font-size:0%;">
   M518x533S1870a489x515S18701482x490S20500508x496S2e734500x468
   </text>

3.3.1.3.  SVG Symbols

   Each symbol in the Signbox is a combination of the symbol key and the
   positioning coordinate.

   Symbol 1:  S1870a 489x515

   Symbol 2:  S18701 482x490

   Symbol 3:  S20500 508x496

   Symbol 4:  S2e734 500x468

   Each spatial symbol is written as an SVG group and positioned by the
   transformation translate.

     <g transform="translate(489,515)">...</g>
     <g transform="translate(482,490)">...</g>
     <g transform="translate(508,496)">...</g>
     <g transform="translate(500,468)">...</g>

   Inside of each group, 2 text elements are written.  The symbol fill
   is written first using the SuttonSignWritingFill font with a plane 16
   character.  The symbol line is written second using the
   SuttonSignWritingLine font with a plane 15 character.  See
   Section 2.3.3.2 for the formula to convert symbol keys to codepoints.

<text class="sym-fill"
 style="font-family:'SuttonSignWritingFill';font-size:30px;fill:white;">
 {plane 16 codepoint}
</text>
<text class="sym-line"
 style="font-family:'SuttonSignWritingLine';font-size:30px;fill:black;">
 {plane 15 codepoint}
</text>

3.3.2.  Stand Alone SVG

   It is possible to request completed SVG images from SignPuddle 3.
   The SVG images created by the SignWriting Server are stand-alone
   graphics that do not use the TrueType Fonts.  The SVG images use path
   elements to define the symbol lines and curves.





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   The SVG header and SVG text for the server-side images are the same
   as the standard FSW to SVG transformation.  See Section 3.3.1

   The SVG symbols section is structured differently.  Multiple SVG
   elements are contained within each sign SVG image.  Each sub-SVG
   element uses X and Y coordinates to place each symbol.  Consider the
   FSW string
   "M518x533S1870a489x515S18701482x490S20500508x496S2e734500x468".

   Symbol 1:  S1870a 489x515

   Symbol 2:  S18701 482x490

   Symbol 3:  S20500 508x496

   Symbol 4:  S2e734 500x468

   <svg x="489" y="515">...</svg>
   <svg x="482" y="490">...</svg>
   <svg x="508" y="496">...</svg>
   <svg x="500" y="468">...</svg>

   Inside of each sub-SVG element is a group (g) element with one or two
   path elements.  This inside information can only be requested from
   the SignWriting Server or some other source of the symbol image data.

     <g transform="translate(0.146473559361,17.7697467366) ... ">
       <path class="sym-fill" fill="white" d="M700 1493 ... "/>
       <path class="sym-line" fill="black" d="M1826 1480 ... "/>
     </g>

3.4.  HTML and CSS

   Basic HTML structures and CSS rules can be used with Formal
   SignWriting for customization and layout.

3.4.1.  Centering and Sizing

   It is possible to center a symbol or sign within a div with a few CSS
   rules.  The symbol or sign will automatically shrink in size if the
   containing div is smaller than the SVG image.  Additionally, if the
   SVG is created with the zoom level of extendable (styling string
   "-Zx"), the symbol or sign will grow in size to fill as much of the
   containing div as possible.

   <div class="centered">
     <svg version="1.1" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" ...
   </div>



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   div.centered {
     position: relative;
     width: 10%;
     height: 10%;
     border: 1px solid black;
   }

   div.centered svg {
     position: absolute;
     display: block;
     top:2.5%;
     bottom: 2.5%;
     left: 2.5%;
     right: 2.5%;
     margin: auto;
     max-width: 95%;
     max-height: 95%;
   }

3.4.2.  Coloring Symbols and Signs

   Individual signs can be colored with CSS rules.  The individual
   classes of 'sym-line' and 'sym-fill' can be used to isolate each part
   of a symbol, both positive and negative spaces, or the classes can be
   ignored to create the shadow of a symbol that includes both aspects
   of a symbol.

   <svg class="primary" ...
   <svg class="success" ...
   <svg class="info" ...
   <svg class="warning" ...
   <svg class="danger" ...
   <svg class="shadow" ...
   <svg class="inverse" ...

   svg.primary g text.sym-line { fill: #337ab7 !important; }
   svg.success g text.sym-line { fill: #5cb85c !important; }
   svg.info g text.sym-line { fill: #5bc0de !important; }
   svg.warning g text.sym-line { fill: #f0ad4e !important; }
   svg.danger g text.sym-line { fill: #d9534f !important; }
   svg.shadow g text { fill: grey !important; }
   svg.inverse g text.sym-line { fill: white !important; }
   svg.inverse g text.sym-fill { fill: black !important; }








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3.4.3.  Other Effects

   Other CSS rules can be used for other effect.  Please note that
   transform property does not effect the document flow and should not
   be used for general layout.

   svg.shadowed {
     text-shadow: -1px -1px 1px #fff, 1px 1px 1px #000;
   }
   svg.rotate {
     transform: rotate(0.5turn);
   }
   svg.bigger {
     transform: scale(2);
   }
   svg.skewed {
     transform: skewX(30deg);
   }

3.4.4.  Sentences

   SignWriting is written vertically using the vertical writing mode of
   CSS.  To create the center lane and to visually divide the columns of
   text, several span elements are used.  Each sign is contained in a
   div with a width and height that matches the enclosed sign.  To
   properly align each sign with the center of its lane, the containing
   div will either use "margin-right" or "border-left".  With "border-
   left", the rule must include "solid transparent" after the size.

<div class="signtext">
 <span class="outside"><span class="middle"><span class="inside">
  <div style="width:42px;height:77px;margin-right:2px;"><svg ...
  <div style="width:38px;height:48px;margin-right:2px;"><svg ...
  <div style="width:25px;height:9px;border-left:7px solid transparent;">

















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   div.signtext {
     -webkit-writing-mode: vertical-lr;
     writing-mode: vertical-lr;
     font-size: 0%;
     border-left: 1px solid blue;
     height: 100%;
   }

   span.outside { border-left: 1px solid blue; vertical-align: top; }
   span.middle { vertical-align: bottom; }
   span.inside { border-left: 1px dashed red; }

   div.signtext div {
     writing-mode: horizontal-tb;
     display: inline-block;
     vertical-align: middle;
     padding: 20px;
     box-sizing: content-box;
   }

3.5.  JavaScript Packages

   For modern web and app development, several packages are available on
   Github and NPM.

3.5.1.  @sutton-signwriting/core

   a javascript package for node and browsers that supports general
   processing of the Sutton SignWriting script

      Source [SSWCoreSrc]

      Documentation [SSWCoreDoc]

      Distribution [SSWCoreDist]

   npm install @sutton-signwriting/core

3.5.2.  @sutton-signwriting/font-ttf

   a javascript package for the web components and browser that
   generates SVG and PNG images for individual symbols and complete
   signs

      Source [SSWTTFSrc]

      Documentation [SSWTTFDoc]




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      Distribution [SSWTTFDist]

   npm install @sutton-signwriting/font-ttf

3.5.3.  @sutton-signwriting/font-db

   a javascript package for node that generates SVG and PNG images for
   individual symbols and complete signs

      Source [SSWFontDBSrc]

      Documentation [SSWFontDBDoc]

      Distribution [SSWFontDBDist]

   npm install @sutton-signwriting/font-db

3.5.4.  @sutton-signwriting/sgnw-components

   a javascript package of Web Components for use with the SignWriting
   script

      Source [SSWSgnwSrc]

      Documentation [SSWSgnwDoc]

      Distribution [SSWSgnwDist]

   npm install @sutton-signwriting/sgnw-components

4.  Transformations

   Formal SignWriting and the surrounding technologies have been created
   to facilitate easy transformations between the various forms.

4.1.  Formal SignWriting to Query String

   Formal SignWriting strings have several natural transformations to
   query string.  The transformation can use the temporal prefix and/or
   the spatial signbox.  For each symbol, the query can include the
   exact symbol key, or the query can use a general symbol key where the
   fill and rotation modifiers are not explicitly defined.  Consider the
   Formal SignWriting string
   "AS14c20S27106M518x529S14c20481x471S27106503x489".

   Exact Temporal Prefix Symbols:  QAS14c20S27106T

   General Temporal Prefix Symbols:  QAS14cuuS271uuT



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   Exact Spatial Signbox Symbols:  QS14c20S27106

   General Spatial Signbox Symbols:  QS14cuuS271uu

   Exact Spatial Signbox Symbols with Location:  QS14c20481x471S27106503
      x489

   General Spatial Signbox Symbols with Location:  QS14cuu481x471S271uu5
      03x489

4.2.  Query String to Regular Expression

   The transformation from query string to regular expressions has been
   fully implemented in the Sutton SignWriting JavaScript Library and
   the SignWriting Server.

   The query language to regular expressions generator uses the
   following regular expression structures as building blocks.

   Temporal Prefix Prefix:  (A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f])+)

   Signbox Prefix:  [BLMR]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})

   Spatial Symbols:  (S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})*

   The Temporal Prefix Prefix is a structural marker followed by one or
   more symbols.  For the query string "QT", the prefix is required.
   For the general "Q", the prefix is optional so "?" is appended to the
   Temporal Prefix Prefix regular expression.

   The Signbox Prefix is a combination of structural marker and
   preprocessed maximum coordinate.  Every constructed regular
   expression will include the Signbox Prefix.

   The Spatial Symbols is zero or more symbol definitions and associated
   coordinates.  The Spatial Symbols regular expression is used for
   every search.  For both "Q" and "QT", it is the only symbol matching
   used.  When searching for specific symbols and ranges, the general
   Spatial Symbols definition will sandwich the specific search
   definitions.

   Searching for number ranges with regular expressions requires a
   unique technique.  This technique requires five steps.

   Find a number between 122 and 455

   1) 10's don't match and the min 1's are not zero ( last number to
   9):  Match 12[2-9]



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   2) Bring up the 10's if hundreds are different:  Match 1[3-9][0-9]

   3) Bring up the 100's if different:  Match [2-3][0-9][0-9]

   4) Bring up the 10's:  Match 4[0-4][0-9]

   5) Bring up the 1's:  Match 45[0-5]

   Final Match (12[2-9]|1[3-9][0-9]|[2-3][0-9][0-9]|4[0-4][0-9]|45[0-5])

   For the styling string regular expression, see Section 2.5.

5.  Unicode Considerations

   "The plan for encoding Sutton SignWriting in Unicode is for there to
   be two separate Unicode proposals.  The first is for the symbol set
   covered by [the] ISWA 2010...  The second is for an encoding that
   takes symbols and turns them into signs." -ScriptSource
   [UnicodeScript]

5.1.  Unicode Technical Committee

   In 2011, two documents were submitted: N4015 L2/11-101 [UnicodeN4015]
   and N4090 L2/11-217 [UnicodeN4090].

   In 2012, one document was submitted: N4342 L2/12-321 [UnicodeN4342].

   In 2015, the Sutton SignWriting Block was officially added to the
   Unicode standard.  A documement was submitted: L2/15-194
   [Unicode15194].  In July, Steve Slevinski attended UTC #144.  After
   the meeting, another document was submitted: L2/15-219
   [Unicode15219].

   In 2016, one document was submitted: L2/16-225 [Unicode16225].  In
   August, Steve Slevinski attended UTC #148.

   In 2017, two documents were submitted: L2/17-220 [Unicode17220] and
   L2/17-282 [Unicode17282].  In August, Steve Slevinski attended UTC
   #152.

   Further discussions with the Unicode Technical Committee are
   dependent on the support of a voting member.

5.2.  SignWriting in Unicode 8

   The Sutton SignWriting symbol set based on the ISWA 2010 was encoded
   in the Unicode Standard version 8.0.




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   This encoding is based on the Unicode proposal from section 5.1 of
   draft-slevinski-iswa-2010 [UnicodeProposal], first published in
   January 2011.

   The first draft officially submitted to the Unicode Technical
   Committee was N4015, a compromise with the Unicode committee that
   removed two-dimensional layout by dropping five structural markers
   and 500 number characters.

   The second draft N4090 was under protest because it broke sorting and
   introduced variable length symbol names.

   The third draft N4342 was rejected by the Center for Sutton Movement
   Writing.  A new facial diacritic model was forced into the proposal
   that was neither defined nor tested.

   In 2020, Google released Noto Sans SignWriting [UnicodeGoogle], a
   font for Sutton SignWriting that fully implements the official
   Unicode 8 design with modifying characters and facial diacritics.
   The font can be used to view any symbol of the International
   SignWriting Alphabet 2010 (ISWA 2010) as well as create complex
   facial expressions with diacritics.  General layout of SignWriting is
   not part of the Unicode 8 design.  Outside of facial expressions,
   layout requires a higher level protocol such as SVG.

5.2.1.  Official Characters

   In 2015, the symbols of Sutton SignWriting (Section 1.2 and
   Section 2.3.3) were added to Unicode version 8.

   +============================+====================+
   | Description                | Unicode 8 Range    |
   +============================+====================+
   | Base Characters            | U+1D800 to U+1DA8B |
   +----------------------------+--------------------+
   | Fill Modifiers 2 to 6      | U+1DA9B to U+1DA9F |
   +----------------------------+--------------------+
   | Rotation Modifiers 2 to 16 | U+1DAA1 to U+1DAAF |
   +----------------------------+--------------------+

                         Table 24

   Each symbol key can be rewritten using 1 to 3 Unicode characters of a
   base, optional fill, and optional rotation.  Given a symbol key as
   variable "key", in JavaScript the 3 characters can be derived with
   simple formulas.  Both Fill Modifier 1 (U+1DA9A) and Rotation
   Modifier 1 (U+1DAA0) are inherent characters and should be not be
   written in the character string.



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      var base = parseInt(key.substr(1,3),16) + parseInt('1D700',16);

      var fill = parseInt(key.substr(4,1),16) + parseInt('1DA9A',16);

      var rotation = parseInt(key.substr(5,1),16) +
      parseInt('1DAA0',16);

   The Sutton SignWriting Resources do not support these characters as
   defined in the Unicode standard.  The presentation Issues with
   SignWriting in Unicode 8 [Unicode8Issues] details why this encoding
   is incomplete, broken, and fictional.  Alternatively, the Sutton
   SignWriting Resources support the character sets (Section 2.2) of
   Formal SignWriting in ASCII (FSW) and SignWriting in Unicode (SWU).

5.2.2.  17 New Characters

   The addition of 17 Unicode characters to the official Unicode
   standard can complete the script encoding and cover 2-dimensional
   layout.

   +=====================+====================+====================+
   | Description         | Formal SignWriting | Proposed Unicode   |
   +=====================+====================+====================+
   | Fill Modifier 1     | 0                  | U+1DA9A            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Rotation Modifier 1 | 0                  | U+1DAA0            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Numbers             | 0 to 9             | U+1DAB0 to U+1DAB9 |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Sequence Marker     | A                  | U+1DABA            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Signbox Markers     | B                  | U+1DABB            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Left Lane Markers   | L                  | U+1DABC            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Middle Lane Markers | M                  | U+1DABD            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+
   | Right Lane Markers  | R                  | U+1DABE            |
   +---------------------+--------------------+--------------------+

                                Table 25

   Fill Modifier 1 and Rotation Modifier 1 are included to fix sorting
   and simplify processing.

   The 10 number characters express the concept of distance, important
   for use with 2-dimensional scripts.




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   The 5 structural markers define cohesive units of the script.

5.3.  SignWriting in Unicode (SWU)

   Characters are used to name signs.  Fonts are used to view signs.

   SignWriting in Unicode (SWU) was first published in October 2016 and
   officially submitted to the Unicode Technical Committee in July 2017.
   SWU is not part of the Unicode standard.  SignWriting in Unicode is
   an experimental Unicode design that is supported by the Sutton
   SignWriting Resources.  This alternate encoding overwrites the Sutton
   SignWriting block in Unicode and uses plane 4 for the SignWriting
   symbols.

6.  IANA Considerations

   None.

7.  Security Considerations

   None.

8.  References

   [SignSpelling]
              Sutton, V.S., "SignSpelling Guidelines",
              <https://www.signwriting.org/archive/docs6/sw0534-
              SignSpellingGuidelines-2008.pdf>.

   [SLlegal]  "Legal Recognition of Sign Language",
              <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
              Legal_recognition_of_sign_languages>.

   [SSWCoreDist]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Core Distribution",
              <https://unpkg.com/browse/@sutton-signwriting/core/>.

   [SSWCoreDoc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Core Documentation",
              <https://sutton-signwriting.github.io/core/>.

   [SSWCoreSrc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Core Source",
              <https://github.com/sutton-signwriting/core>.







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   [SSWFontDBDist]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font DB
              Distribution",
              <https://unpkg.com/browse/@sutton-signwriting/font-db/>.

   [SSWFontDBDoc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font DB
              Documentation",
              <https://sutton-signwriting.github.io/font-db/>.

   [SSWFontDBSrc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font DB Source",
              <https://github.com/sutton-signwriting/font-db>.

   [SSWSgnwDist]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Web Components
              Distribution", <https://unpkg.com/browse/@sutton-
              signwriting/sgnw-components/>.

   [SSWSgnwDoc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Web Components
              Documentation",
              <https://sutton-signwriting.github.io/sgnw-components/>.

   [SSWSgnwSrc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Web Components
              Source",
              <https://github.com/sutton-signwriting/sgnw-components>.

   [SSWTTFDist]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font TTF
              Distribution",
              <https://unpkg.com/browse/@sutton-signwriting/font-ttf/>.

   [SSWTTFDoc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font TTF
              Documentation",
              <https://sutton-signwriting.github.io/font-ttf/>.

   [SSWTTFSrc]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font TTF Source",
              <https://github.com/sutton-signwriting/font-ttf>.

   [SteveSlevinski]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Steve Slevinski's Homepage",
              <https://SteveSlevinski.me>.





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   [SW2010]   Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Standard of 2010",
              <https://steveslevinski.me/#standard2010>.

   [SW2012]   Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Standard of 2012",
              <https://steveslevinski.me/#standard2012>.

   [SW2017]   Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Standard of 2017",
              <https://steveslevinski.me/#standard2017>.

   [SWbyHand] Sutton, V.S., "Writing SignWriting by Hand",
              <https://www.signwriting.org/lessons/cursive>.

   [SWChat]   "Sutton SignWriting Chat on Gitter",
              <https://gitter.im/sutton-signwriting/community>.

   [SWFacebook]
              "Sutton SignWriting Facebook Group",
              <https://www.facebook.com/groups/SuttonSignWriting/>.

   [SWFontFill]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Fill TypeType Font",
              <https://unpkg.com/@sutton-signwriting/font-
              ttf@1.0.0/font/SuttonSignWritingFill.ttf>.

   [SWFontLine]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Line TypeType Font",
              <https://unpkg.com/@sutton-signwriting/font-
              ttf@1.0.0/font/SuttonSignWritingLine.ttf>.

   [SWFontOne]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting One Configuration
              Profile", <https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/slevinski/
              signwriting_2010_fonts/fonts/
              SuttonSignWritingOne.mobileconfig>.

   [SWFontOneD]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting One-D TypeType Font",
              <https://unpkg.com/@sutton-signwriting/font-
              ttf@1.0.0/font/SuttonSignWritingOneD.ttf>.

   [SWFontSource]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Font Source",
              <https://github.com/Slevinski/signwriting_2010_fonts/tree/
              master/source>.







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   [SWFontSymbol]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Symbol Configuration
              Profile", <https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/gh/slevinski/
              signwriting_2010_fonts/fonts/
              SuttonSignWritingSymbol.mobileconfig>.

   [SWio]     Slevinski, S.S., "Sutton SignWriting Resources",
              <https://www.sutton-signwriting.io>.

   [SWList]   "SignWriting Email List",
              <http://www.signwriting.org/forums/swlist/>.

   [SWMobile] Gleaves, R.G., "SignWriting Mobile Site",
              <https://m.signwriting.org>.

   [SWPatrons]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Support SignWriting on Patreon",
              <https://patreon.com/signwriting>.

   [SWScript] Slevinski, S.S., "SignWriting Script: an ode to writing by
              hand", <https://www.signpuddle.net/wiki/index.php/
              SignWriting_Script/>.

   [SWWeb]    Sutton, V.S., "SignWriting Website",
              <https://signwriting.org>.

   [SWWikipedia]
              "SignWriting Wikipedia Page",
              <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SignWriting>.

   [TwoDFont] Slevinski, S.S., "Two-Dimensional Font Prototype",
              <https://www.signwriting.org/symposium/
              presentation0019.html>.

   [TwoDFontProject]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Two-Dimensional Font Project",
              <https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:Project/slevinski/
              ASL_Wikipedia_2-D_Font_Development_for_SignWriting>.

   [Unicode]  "The Unicode Standard: A Technical Introduction",
              <http://unicode.org/standard/principles.html>.

   [Unicode15194]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Addressing SignWriting Collation in
              DUCET", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15194-
              signwriting-response.pdf>.





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   [Unicode15219]
              Anderson, D.A., Slevinski, S.S., and K.W. Whistler,
              "SignWriting Design, With Three Examples and Their
              Representation", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2015/15219-
              signwriting-design.pdf>.

   [Unicode16225]
              Slevinski, S.S., "SignWriting in Unicode Next",
              <http://www.unicode.org/cgi-bin/
              GetMatchingDocs.pl?L2/16-225>.

   [Unicode17220]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Design Options for Sutton SignWriting
              with examples and fonts", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/
              L2017/17220-signwriting-design-opt.pdf>.

   [Unicode17282]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Design Options for Sutton SignWriting
              Auxiliary", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/L2017/17282-
              signwriting-design-aux.pdf>.

   [Unicode8Issues]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Issues with SignWriting in Unicode 8",
              <https://www.slideshare.net/StephenSlevinski/sign-writing-
              in-unicode-8-issues>.

   [UnicodeAnalysis]
              Aznar, G.A., "Analysis of the different methods to encode
              SignWriting in Unicode",
              <https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid
              =A5A55FFC4B59332074F2B0670B758D4F?doi=10.1.1.188.7470&rep=
              rep1&type=pdf>.

   [UnicodeChinese]
              Zhang, S.Z., "Chinese Characters Are Futuristic and the
              Alphabet Is Old News",
              <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/11/
              chinese-computers/504851/>.

   [UnicodeGoogle]
              Google, G., "Noto Sans SignWriting",
              <https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/
              page.php?item_id=entry_detail&uid=wb9v9lchat>.








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   [UnicodeGraphite]
              Hosken, M.H., "New engine feature proposal",
              <https://sourceforge.net/p/silgraphite/mailman/
              silgraphite-devel/thread/20121120152328.5984b784%40sil-
              mh6/#msg30121143>.

   [UnicodeIdeas]
              Hosken, M.H., "SignWriting Layout Discussion v2",
              <https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/render_download.php?
              format=file&media_id=..%2Fsites%2Fs%2Fmedia%2Fdatabase%2Fs
              sproto%2Fentries%2Fjt%2F4f%2Fjt4fblkvhu_Signwriting_layout
              _discuss_v2.pdf&filename=Signwriting_layout_discuss_v2.pdf
              >.

   [UnicodeN4015]
              Everson, M.E., Slevinski, S.S., and V.S. Sutton,
              "Preliminary proposal for encoding the SignWriting script
              in the SMP of the UCS", <http://www.unicode.org/L2/
              L2011/11101-n4015-signwriting.pdf>.

   [UnicodeN4090]
              Everson, M.E., Slevinski, S.S., and V.S. Sutton, "Revised
              proposal for encoding the SignWriting script in the SMP of
              the UCS", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/
              L2011/11217-n4090-signwriting.pdf>.

   [UnicodeN4342]
              Everson, M.E., Hosken, M.H., Slevinski, S.S., and V.S.
              Sutton, "Proposal for encoding Sutton SignWriting in the
              UCS", <https://www.unicode.org/L2/
              L2012/12321-n4342-signwriting.pdf>.

   [UnicodePragmatic]
              Batchelder, N.B., "Pragmatic Unicode, or, How do I stop
              the pain?", <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgHbC6udIqc>.

   [UnicodeProposal]
              Slevinski, S.S., "Encoding the graphemes of the
              SignWriting Script with the x-ISWA-2010",
              <https://tools.ietf.org/html/draft-slevinski-iswa-2010-
              00#section-5.1>.

   [UnicodeScript]
              "Unicode Status (SignWriting)",
              <https://scriptsource.org/cms/scripts/
              page.php?item_id=entry_detail&uid=jt4fblkvhu>.





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Appendix A.  A brief history

A.1.  SignWriting

   +=========+========================================================+
   | Year(s) | Event(s)                                               |
   +=========+========================================================+
   | 1966    | Valerie Sutton invented DanceWriting                   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1974    | Valerie Sutton invented SignWriting                    |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1974 to | SignWriting is written exclusively by hand             |
   | 1986    |                                                        |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1981 to | publishing efforts include stencils and wax transfers  |
   | 1984    |                                                        |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1986 to | SignWriting is successfully computer encoding with     |
   | 1995    | keyboarding support                                    |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2002    | advanced sorting of SignWriting dictionaries is        |
   |         | available                                              |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2004    | a drag-and-drop interface is created for SignWriting   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2006    | SignWriting received the ISO 15924 script code "Sgnw"  |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2010    | the International SignWriting Alphabet 2020 (ISWA      |
   |         | 2010) is released                                      |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2012    | the Formal SignWriting in ASCII (FSW) specification is |
   |         | released                                               |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2015    | the Sutton SignWriting Block is added to the Unicode   |
   |         | Standard                                               |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2017    | the SignWriting in Unicode (SWU) specification is      |
   |         | released                                               |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2020 to | Steve Slevinski assumed full responsibility for        |
   | present | administering and financially supporting the           |
   |         | SignWriting websites                                   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2020 to | Valerie Sutton continues her personal support for      |
   | present | SignWriting with plans for a new series of SignWriting |
   |         | instruction books and a future SignWriting Trust for   |
   |         | the long-term support of SignWriting                   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+



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   | 2021    | SignWriting is expanding into the machine learning     |
   |         | space with a focus on video analysis and translation   |
   +---------+--------------------------------------------------------+

                                 Table 26


A.2.  Steve Slevinski

   +=========+=========================================================+
   | Year(s) | Event(s)                                                |
   +=========+=========================================================+
   | 1994    | Steve graduated from Grove City College with a          |
   |         | Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, computer science    |
   |         | applied                                                 |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1994    | Steve was hired by the New York State Education         |
   |         | Department as a Senior Computer Programmer / Analyst    |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1996    | Steve was hired by Danet Inc in telecommunications      |
   |         | for quality assurance and in 1998 he was promoted to    |
   |         | the maintainer of the internal business systems         |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 1999    | Steve raised his first son with sign language, who      |
   |         | learned to use several dozen signs before he spoke      |
   |         | his first word                                          |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2004    | Steve raised his daughter with sign language, but she   |
   |         | only learned a few signs before she started talking     |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2002    | Steve became a friend of the deaf through his wife's    |
   |         | work in Pittsburgh and through connections at the       |
   |         | Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (WPSD)         |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2004 to | Steve has been actively working with Valerie Sutton     |
   | present | on a weekly basis with Valerie sharing her invention    |
   |         | and Steve trying to make it a reality with technology   |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2004 to | Steve was a paid consultant to the Center for Sutton    |
   | 2019    | Movement Writing non-profit                             |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2020 to | Steve was hired by the University of Iowa as a data     |
   | present | manager for psychiatry research and neuroimaging        |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2020    | Steve continues his work with SignWriting on the        |
   | forward | weekends and early mornings                             |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+




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                                  Table 27

A.3.  Financial Support

   +=========+=========================================================+
   | Year(s) | Event(s)                                                |
   +=========+=========================================================+
   | 1974 to | SignWriting was financially supported and promoted      |
   | 2019    | through the Center for Sutton Movement Writing (CSMW)   |
   |         | non-profit                                              |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2018    | the Center for Sutton Movement Writing (CSMW) lost a    |
   |         | major funding source                                    |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2019    | the Center for Sutton Movement Writing closed the non-  |
   |         | profit status of the organization due to excessive      |
   |         | government paperwork and a focus on fundraising rather  |
   |         | than productive work                                    |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2019    | Steve Slevinski started a Patreon campaign [SWPatrons]  |
   |         | to support current and future work with SignWriting     |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+
   | 2022    | Added crypto options to support current and future      |
   |         | work with SignWriting                                   |
   |         |                                                         |
   |         | *  Bitcoin: bc1qj0fxphz4qsdt6xd4f3cr4lc96rxyp2ngh0npdp  |
   |         |                                                         |
   |         | *  Ethereum:                                            |
   |         |    0x68733c1Dd7CB5A76d38b0711d937FBb953928357           |
   |         |                                                         |
   |         | *  Dogecoin: DC8K7qWC7WdTrbDSpAJhFtp3kr9owzMF8j         |
   +---------+---------------------------------------------------------+

                                  Table 28


Appendix B.  SignWriting General Interest

   The Sutton SignWriting resources are free to use by anyone for any
   purpose.  Sutton SignWriting supports free culture and the creation
   of free culture works.

      Sutton SignWriting Resources [SWio]

      SignWriting Website [SWWeb]

      SignWriting Mobile Site [SWMobile]




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      SignWriting Wikipedia Page [SWWikipedia]

      SignWriting Email List [SWList]

      SignWriting Group on Facebook [SWFacebook]

      SignWriting Online Chat [SWChat]

Appendix C.  Proposed Null Symbol

   For consideration and comment, a new null symbol is proposed.  This
   new symbol is for use in the temporal prefix and not in the spatial
   signbox.  The null symbol can be used for one-handed signs so that
   they will be sorted before two-handed signs.

   +=============+========+=========+
   | Type        | FSW    | SWU     |
   +=============+========+=========+
   | null symbol | S00000 | U+40000 |
   +-------------+--------+---------+

                Table 29

   Sorting uses a binary string comparison.  The null symbol will sort
   before all other symbols.  Following the SignSpelling guidelines
   [SignSpelling], the temporal prefix starts with the dominant hand and
   is followed by the non-dominant hand.  For one-handed signs, the null
   symbol can be used in place of the non-dominant hand.

   +============+============+=================+
   | Sort Order | Symbol Key | Definition      |
   +============+============+=================+
   | 1          | S00000     | Null Symbol     |
   +------------+------------+-----------------+
   | 2          | S10000     | Index           |
   +------------+------------+-----------------+
   | 3          | S10100     | Index on Circle |
   +------------+------------+-----------------+
   | 4          | S20500     | Touch Single    |
   +------------+------------+-----------------+

                      Table 30

C.1.  Sorting without the Null Symbol

   Without the null symbol, the one-handed signs may be sorted after
   two-handed signs.  This is suboptimal.




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   +============+=================+=========================+
   | Sort Order | Temporal Prefix | Description             |
   +============+=================+=========================+
   | 1          | AS10000         | Single hand             |
   +------------+-----------------+-------------------------+
   | 2          | AS10000S10100   | Two hands               |
   +------------+-----------------+-------------------------+
   | 3          | AS10000S20500   | Single hand and contact |
   +------------+-----------------+-------------------------+

                            Table 31

C.2.  Sorting with the Null Symbol

   With the null symbol, all one-handed signs can be sorted before two-
   handed signs.  This is ideal.

   +============+=====================+=====================+
   | Sort Order | Temporal Prefix     | Description         |
   +============+=====================+=====================+
   | 1          | AS10000             | Single hand         |
   +------------+---------------------+---------------------+
   | 2          | AS10000S00000S20500 | Single hand, null   |
   |            |                     | symbol, and contact |
   +------------+---------------------+---------------------+
   | 3          | AS10000S10100       | Two hands           |
   +------------+---------------------+---------------------+

                            Table 32

Author's Address

   Steve Slevinski
   www.sutton-signwriting.io

   Email: slevinski@signwriting.org















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