html problem(style,unicode, and non microsoft supported language)

[tt]

Please explain thisfor me.

Ok I copied this from a site.
css style with following code:
".style27 {font-size: small; font-family: "Ethiopian Jiret";}"
The body of the html has the following code that gets the non microsoft font
and displays it:
<td width="85%" class="style27 "><a href="RevAgency.htm"
class="menu">የገቢ
አስተዳደር</a></td>

The result is that it gets the correct font even though the letters &#4768
is not the unicode # for that specific letter. I am a beginner and really
need to understand how this works.
Can someone explain it to me please?

Thanks

 

[Toby Inkster]

The result is that it gets the correct font even though the letters &#4768
is not the unicode # for that specific letter.

Not exactly sure what you're trying to ask. Do you mean, that given the
following example:

<p style="font-style:Some western font">
(some western characters)
(some eastern characters)
(some western characters)
</p>

the browser will drop out of the western font, into an appropriate font
for the eastern characters? If so, yes, this is the expected behaviour,
and most browsers are smart enough to do that.

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Please explain thisfor me.

Try explaining your problem first, in a simple way and illustrated with
a URL. What are you really trying to accomplish.

Ok I copied this from a site.

Stop doing so. If you don't understand what it is, how do you expect us
to help without seeing it in a) in the original context, b) in your
context? Copying CSS code is generally foolish. Adopting ideas is fine,
as long as you have _understood_ them.

".style27 {font-size: small; font-family: "Ethiopian Jiret";}"

The selector alone sends some bogosity signals. Class names are
supposed to be descriptive, not enumerative. What is Ethiopian Jiret
font and why would you use it? It sounds like an attempt to extend
character repertoire with fontistic tricks. In any case, surely more
than 99 % of Internet users' computers don't contain such a font.

The body of the html has the following code that gets the non
microsoft font and displays it:
<td width="85%" class="style27 "><a href="RevAgency.htm"
class="menu">የገቢ
አስተዳደር</a></td>

The result is that it gets the correct font even though the letters
&#4768 is not the unicode # for that specific letter.

What specific letter, which correct font?

I am a
beginner and really need to understand how this works.

Please define "this".

 

[Alan J. Flavell]

What is Ethiopian Jiret font and why would you use it? It sounds
like an attempt to extend character repertoire with fontistic
tricks.

That was my first reaction too, but, as you read on, it should've
become clearer that it was not so...

In any case, surely more than 99 % of Internet users' computers
don't contain such a font.

Agreed. However, if they can read Ethiopic, they may already have an
Ethiopic-capable font, no?

You know as well as I do that those Unicode points are Ethiopic, so
you're being a bit harsh on the poster. Even if I agree with you that
the initial posting was rather inept.

What?

U+12A0 አ ETHIOPIC SYLLABLE GLOTTAL A

What specific letter, which correct font?

Indeed.

But let's address the general topic, irrespective of the somewhat
incoherent detailed questions. On the one hand:

http://www.alanwood.net/unicode/fonts.html#ethiopic

may be helpful. On the other hand, either the reader *does* have a
font which supports Ethiopic (which might or might not be the one
mentioned) - in which case supplying them with some CSS that attempts
to select a font that they haven't got is counter-productive (I think
the only font I've got that supports Ethiopic is Code2000). Or, they
haven't got *any* font which supports Ethiopic - in which case merely
supplying them with some CSS that attempts to select one is useless.

Either way, the *reader* needs a font which supports Ethiopic (i.e
they have to install one if they haven't yet got one - at least,
that's the way the WWW usually works).

Indeed the first font on Alan Wood's list of fonts supporting Ethiopic
was "Ethiopia Jiret"(sic). Its link is semi-broken, but there's
enough clue on the status-404 response page to find
http://www.senamirmir.com/projects/typography/ethiopic_fonts.html

However, there *are* several other Ethiopic-capable fonts listed on
Alan Wood's page.

The best thing that the *author* can do, in my experience of
relatively unusual scripts, is to leave the choice of font to the
browser.

cheers