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<!DOCTYPE html> <html> <head>  <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-BPN1D3SEJM" ></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag() { dataLayer.push(arguments); } gtag("js", new Date()); gtag("config", "G-BPN1D3SEJM"); </script> <meta charset="utf-8" /> <title>CLDR Keyboard Working Group</title> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/assets/css/page.css" /> </head> <body class="page">  <header class="pageheader"> <div class="navparent"> <div id="nav" class="nav">  </div> </div> </header> <section class="body"> <div id="sidebar">  </div> <div id="content"><h1 id="cldr-keyboard-working-group">CLDR Keyboard Working Group</h1> <p>The CLDR Keyboard Subcommittee is responsible for the development and maintenance of a standard cross-platform XML format for use by keyboard authors.</p> <h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p><strong>CLDR (Common Locale Data Repository)</strong></p> <p>Computing devices have become increasingly personal and increasingly affordable to the point that they are now within reach of most people on the planet. The diverse linguistic requirements of the world鈥檚 7+ billion people do not scale to traditional models of software development. In response to this, Unicode <a href="/">CLDR</a> has emerged as a standards-based solution that empowers specialist and community input, as a means of balancing the needs of language communities with the technologies of major platform and service providers.</p> <p><img src="../images/keyboard-workgroup-keyboards.jpeg" alt="alt-text" /></p> <h3 id="the-challenge-and-promise-of-keyboards">The challenge and promise of Keyboards</h3> <p>Text input is a core component of most computing experiences and is most commonly achieved using a keyboard, whether hardware or virtual (on-screen or touch). However, keyboard support for most of the world鈥檚 languages is either completely missing or often does not adequately support the input needs of language communities. Improving text input support for minority languages is an essential part of the Unicode mission.</p> <p>Keyboard data is currently completely platform-specific. Consequently, language communities and other keyboard authors must see their designs developed independently for every platform/operating system, resulting in unnecessary duplication of technical and organizational effort.</p> <p>There is no central repository or contact point for this data, meaning that such authors must separately and independently contact all platform/operating system developers.</p> <h2 id="ldml-the-universal-interchange-format-for-keyboards">LDML: The universal interchange format for keyboards</h2> <p>The CLDR Keyboard Subcommittee is currently rewriting and redeveloping the existing LDML (XML) definition for keyboards (UTS#35 part 7) in order to define core keyboard-based text input requirements for the world鈥檚 languages. This format allows the physical and virtual (on-screen or touch) keyboard layouts for a language to be defined in a single file. Input Method Editors (IME) or other input methods are not currently in scope for this format.</p> <p><img src="../images/keyboard-workgroup-rowkeys.png" alt="alt-text" /></p> <h2 id="cldr-a-home-for-the-worlds-newest-keyboards">CLDR: A home for the world鈥檚 newest keyboards</h2> <p>Today, there are many existing platform-specific implementations and keyboard definitions. This project does not intend to remove or replace existing well-established support.</p> <p>The goal of this project is that, <strong>where otherwise unsupported languages are concerned</strong>, CLDR becomes the common source for keyboard data, for use by platform/operating system developers and vendors.</p> <p>As a result, CLDR will also become the point of contact for keyboard authors and language communities to submit new or updated keyboard layouts to serve those user communities. CLDR has already become the definitive and publicly available source for the world鈥檚 locale data.</p> <h2 id="unicode-enabling-the-worlds-languages">Unicode: Enabling the world鈥檚 languages</h2> <p>Keyboard support is part of a multi-step, often multi-year process of enabling a new language or script.</p> <p>Three critical parts of initial support for a language in content are:</p> <ul> <li>Encoding, in <a href="https://www.unicode.org/standard/standard.html">the Unicode Standard</a></li> <li>Display, including fonts and text layout</li> <li>Input</li> </ul> <p>Today, the vast majority of the languages of the world are already in the Unicode encoding. The open-source Noto font provides a wide range of fonts to support display, and the Unicode character properties play a vital role in display. However, input support often lags many years behind when a script is added to Unicode.</p> <p>The LDML keyboard format, and the CLDR repository, will make it much easier to deliver text input.</p> <h2 id="common-questions">Common Questions</h2> <h3 id="what-is-the-history-of-this-effort">What is the history of this effort?</h3> <p>In 2012, the original LDML keyboard format was designed to describe keyboards for comparative purposes. In 2018, a <a href="http://blog.unicode.org/2018/01/unicode-ldml-keyboard-enhancements.html">PRI was created</a> soliciting further feedback.</p> <p>The CLDR Keyboard Subcommittee was formed and has been meeting since mid-2020. It quickly became apparent that the existing LDML format was insufficient for implementing new keyboard layouts.</p> <h3 id="what-is-the-current-status">What is the current status?</h3> <p>Discussion</p> <ul> <li>The Keyboard WG is actively working on requirements and processes for the repository of CLDR Keyboard data <a href="https://unicode-org.atlassian.net/browse/CLDR-17254">CLDR-17254</a></li> </ul> <p>Release</p> <ul> <li>Updates to LDML (UTS#35) Part 7: Keyboards have been released as part of <a href="/index/downloads/cldr-45">CLDR v45</a>.</li> </ul> <p>Implementations</p> <ul> <li>The <a href="https://keyman.com/ldml/">SIL Keyman</a> project has shipped an open-source implementation of the LDML format in Keyman 17.0 (Desktop, and Developer tools).</li> </ul> <h3 id="how-can-i-get-involved">How can I get involved?</h3> <p>If you want to be engaged in this workgroup, please contact the CLDR Keyboard Subcommittee via the <a href="https://corp.unicode.org/reporting/staff-contact.html">Unicode contact form</a>.</p> </div> </section> <footer> 漏 1991-2024 Unicode, Inc. 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