term% cat index.txt CHAR(1) General Commands Manual CHAR(1)
NAME
char, ½char, rschar - browse the Unicode Standard
SYNOPSIS
char [ font ]
½char [ -s file ] [ font ]
rschar [ -bgj ] [ -s file ] [ font ]
DESCRIPTION
Char displays two square arrays of characters on the screen. The left
square shows the first character of each 256-character page of the Uni‐
code Standard. The right square shows the contents of one page. Using
button 1 or 2 to select a character in the left square changes the
right square to display the corresponding page and displays the offset
and name of the page in the upper left corner of the screen. Selecting
a character in the right square displays its hexadecimal value and
name. In addition, any characters selected with button 2 are added to
the end of 8½'s snarf buffer. Button 3 pops up a menu containing an
exit button, whose selection must be confirmed by pressing button 3
again and a clear snarf button that empties the snarf buffer.
The optional argument indicates which font to use (default $font).
½char is intended for a smaller window and displays only a single
256-character panel. Clicking button 1 on a character displays its
code and, if possible, description; button 2 works similarly, but also
writes the character to file, default /dev/snarf (8½'s snarf buffer),
which it displays near the bottom of the window. Clicking button 3 se‐
lects the page corresponding to the cursor position in the panel.
Typed characters are added to the file, except: backspace deletes the
last character; control-U clears the buffer; control-D exits.
Rschar is the radical/stroke chart from Volume 2 of the Unicode Stan‐
dard. Flags can be used to restrict the display to one or more Asian
character sets:
-b Big Five (traditional Chinese).
-g GB 2312-80 (simplified Chinese).
-j JIS X 0208-1990 (Japanese).
By default, all characters are shown. Button 3 controls a menu to
change flag selections. Radicals are shown in a panel on the left side
of the window. Clicking on a radical with button 1 or 2 brings up, on
the right, a panel of characters ordered by stroke count. If the win‐
dow is too small to contain them all, one may scroll through successive
panels by clicking on arrows that appear at the top. Clicking on a
character with button 1 displays its code; clicking with button 2 adds
the character to the snarf buffer. Typed characters behave as in
½char.
FILES
/lib/unicode contains the names of the unicode characters. Many char‐
acters have no name.
SOURCE
/sys/src/cmd/char.c
/sys/src/cmd/½char.c
/sys/src/cmd/rschar
SEE ALSO
8½(1), 8½(4)
BUGS
Char needs a largish window to work properly and doesn't complain if it
doesn't get it.
CHAR(1)