Unicode Unicode, formally The Unicode Standard,The formal version reference is is an information technology Technical standard, standard for the consistent character encoding, encoding, representation, and handling of Character (computing), text expre ...

, characters can have a unique

name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...

. A character can also have one or more alias names. An alias name can be an abbreviation, a C0 or C1 control name, a correction, an alternate name or a figment. An alias too is unique over all names and aliases, and therefore identifying.

Background

The formal, primary Unicode name is unique over all names, only uses certain characters & format, and is guaranteed never to change. The formal name consists of characters A–Z (uppercase), 0–9, " " (space), and "-" (hyphen). Next to this name, a character can have one or more formal (normative) alias names. Such an alias name also follows the rules of a name: characters used (A-Z, -, 0-9, <space>) and not used (a-z, %, $, etc.). Alias names are also unique in the full name set (that is, all names and alias names are all unique in their combined set). Alias names are formally described in the Unicode Standard. In this sense, an abbreviation is also considered a Unicode ''name''.

Reason to add an alias

There are five possible reasons to assign an alias name to a code point. A character can have multiple aliases: for example has control alias and abbreviation alias . ;1. Abbreviation :Commonly occurring abbreviations (or acronyms) for control codes, format characters, spaces, and variation selectors. :There are 354 such aliases, including 256 aliases for variant selectors (VS-1 ... VS-256). :For example, has alias . :Presentation: in the code charts, the abbreviation is shown in a dashed box: . ;2. Control :

ISO 6429 The C0 and C1 control code or control character sets define control codes for use in text by computer systems that use ASCII and derivatives of ASCII. The codes represent additional information about the text, such as the position of a cursor, ...

names for C0 and C1 control functions and similar commonly occurring names, are added as an alias to the character. :There are 84 such aliases. :For example, has alias . :Presentation: Control characters do not have a primary name, they are labeled like

. Its alias name like is used in the chart documentation, but never as a primary name. This prevents unintended (automated) replacement by the actual, disrupting control character. For example, using alias name in line would be replaced by , triggering the bell sound. ;3. Correction :This is a correction for a "serious problem" in the primary character name, usually an error. :There are 31 such aliases. :For example, is actually a ''lowercase'' p, and so is given alias name ※ : "actually this has the form of a lowercase calligraphic p, despite its name, and through the alias the correct spelling is added." :Presentation: A corrected name is preceded by symbol ※ (the

reference mark The reference mark or reference symbol "※" is a typographic mark or word used in Chinese, Japanese and Korean (CJK) writing. The symbol was used historically to call attention to an important sentence or idea, such as a prologue or footnote. A ...

). ;4. Alternate :For widely used alternate name for a character. :There is 1 such alias. :Example: has alternate . :Presentation: listed in character charts description. ;5. Figment :Several documented labels for C1 control code points which were never actually approved in any standard ('' figment'' = feigned, in fiction). :There are 3 such aliases. :For example, has figment alias . This name is an architectural concept from early drafts of ISO/IEC 10646-1, but it was never approved and standardized. :Presentation: These figment abbreviations are not published in Standard; the chart shows "XXX" for each informally, that is: not a unique or identifying abbreviation.

List of aliases

Informal alternative names

The Unicode standard also uses and publishes alternative names that are ''not formal'', and are not listed as normative alias names. These labels may not be unique and may use irregular characters in their name. They are used in Unicode code charts, for example : .

References

{{Unicode navigation Alias names and abbreviations Unicode typefaces

Background

Reason to add an alias

List of aliases

Informal alternative names

See also

References