[XeTeX] VIQR pre-processor wrotten in (Xe)TeX ?

[Philip TAYLOR]

Ross Moore wrote:

> At least here we have \.<space>   (since '.' has catcode 12, not 11).
> So it should be possible to modify the definition of \.{ } within
> the NFSS processing of \.  to assign a special meaning.
> This is coding that could be easily included within Xunicode.sty ,
> but applied only optionally, according to encoding or within a font-switch.

Just to clarify : as always, I am working within a Plain
regime, so from my perspective a TECkit mapping should
not assume the existence (and use) of LaTeX adjuncts such
as Xunicode.sty.

Qyanh Minh Nguyen (阮光明) wrote :

> It might be slightly off topic, but wouldn't it be simpler to enter
> unicode directly into your tex file?  After all, we're using xetex.
>
> I can see the usefulness of creating a mapping for the long term, as a
> general tool.  It would be of great help if one uses a text editor
> that doesn't support unicode.  For that matter, doing something
> similar for TELEX or VNI should be an added goal.
>
> But back to Philip's original problem (of typesetting a restaurant
> menu), I would do that by entering unicode directly.  For example on
> my mac, I would choose VIQR as an input method and type the
> multilingual text directly in texworks, texshop, or emacs (aquamacs),
> and declare an appropriate font in my tex file.

The problem is that the Vietnamese text will be entered with my
wife Âu Dương Lệ Khanh, who is a native Vietnamese speaker but who
has no knowledge whatsoever of inputting in Unicode.  She can
easily express the Vietnamese portions of the menu in VIQR;
it would be very hard, and perhaps impossible, for her to do
the same in Unicode.

** Phil.