FONTLOG
Dai Banna SIL Fonts
========================


This file provides detailed information on the Dai Banna SIL fonts.
This information should be distributed along with the Dai Banna SIL fonts and any derivative works.


Basic Font Information
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The Dai Banna SIL fonts are a Unicode rendering of the New Tai Lue (Xishuangbanna Dai) script.  Version 2.0b is the first Unicode release.  (Version 1.0 was released under the name of 'SIL Dai Banna' in legacy encoding.)  Two font families, differing only in weight, allow for a wide range of uses.

The New Tai Lue script is used by approximately 300,000 people who speak the Xishuangbanna Dai language in Yunnan, China.  It is a simplification of the Tai Tham (Old Tai Lue) script as used for this language for hundreds of years.

We particularly thank the staff of Xishuangbanna Daily for their assistance in developing this font package.  Xishuangbanna Daily, established since 1957, is the largest newspaper company in Yunnan, China that publishes in the New Tai Lue script.

The Dai Banna SIL fonts are smart fonts using a Graphite description. The source package includes the source GDL code for the description.

Features of the fonts are:
 . complete coverage of the New Tai Lue script
 . Graphite smarts for re-ordrant vowels and line-breaking

Graphite technology enables the visual re-ordering of four vowels, U+19B5..U+19B7 and U+19BA, to the left of the base consonant.  Such re-ordering is required because according to the Unicode Standard, the New Tai Lue script is encoded after a logical ordering, i.e., consonants are always stored before vowels.  Without visual re-ordering, the four vowels will be displayed after the base consonant, which is incorrect according to standard usage of the script.

Besides Graphite, the fonts contain support for another advanced font technology, OpenType.  However, OpenType rendering also requires the use of a New Tai Lue shaper that carries re-ordering information and currently we know of no system that provides one.  Nonetheless, these fonts are suitable for testing OpenType New Tai Lue shaping engines should one come out in the future.

Please give us feedback on these fonts, particularly with regard to individual character shapes.

ChangeLog
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(This should list both major and minor changes, most recent first.)

16 Nov 2007 (AYWC) Dai Banna SIL version 2.0b
- OFL 1.1
- Add line-breaking rules
- Add CJK punctuation (U+3000..3002, U+3008..300B)
- Add full-width forms (U+FF01, U+FF08, U+FF09, U+FF0C, U+FF0E, U+FF1A, U+FF1B, U+FF1F)
- Add alternate digit one at U+E380 (PUA)
- Add U+25CC and support for re-ordrant vowels
- Update to Unicode 5.0

17 Mar 2000 (SIL) SIL Dai Banna version 1.000
- Initial freeware release


Acknowledgements
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(Here is where contributors can be acknowledged.  If you make modifications be sure to add your name (N), email (E), web-address (W) and description (D).  This list is sorted by last name in alphabetical order.)

N: Adrian Cheuk
E: sil_fonts@sil.org
W: http://scripts.sil.org/
D: SIL script technologist

N: Victor Gaultney (and others)
E: sil_fonts@sil.org
W: http://scripts.sil.org/
D: SIL designer and engineers

The Dai Banna SIL project is maintained by SIL International.

For more information please visit SIL International's Computers and Writing systems website: http://scripts.sil.org/

Or send an email to <sil_fonts AT sil DOT org>
