May 7, 2003
Copyright 2003 Printer Working Group, All Rights Reserved.
In Unicode and W3C specifications, the term "character set" usually refers to a method of encoding a (possibly very large) set of characters, e.g. UTF-8. This tells how to encode a given character if it is present, but doesn't define which characters in that space are actually in use.
The term "character repertoire" is used in the present context to indicate a subset of characters that is actually present for rendering.
The tasks of this group include:
Define a normative mechanism ("Character Repertoire") by which a printing device (especially an XML-oriented one) can advertise which groups of characters it is able to render.
Produce a technical specification for that mechanism, and support incorporation of that mechanism in the PWG Semantic Model.
Produce Best Practice material recommending usage techniques for that mechanism to improve interoperability.
Consult with other groups (e.g. UPnP) on character repertoire issues.
Study issues of country and language, as they relate to character repertoires.
Study related topics, such as font download and application to non-XML (legacy) PDLs.
Summer/Fall 2003: Specification: The Printer Working Group Standard for Character Repertoire Interoperability
Summer/Fall 2003: Best Practices for use of Character Repertoires