What is Unicode?

Unicode provides a unique number for every character,
no matter what the platform,
no matter what the program,
no matter what the language.

Fundamentally, computers just deal with numbers. They store letters
and other characters by assigning a number for each one. Before
Unicode was invented, there were hundreds of different encoding
systems for assigning these numbers. No single encoding could contain
enough characters: for example, the European Union alone requires
several different encodings to cover all its languages. Even for a
single language like English no single encoding was adequate for all
the letters, punctuation, and technical symbols in common use.

These encoding systems also conflict with one another. That is, two
encodings can use the same number for two different characters, or use
different numbers for the same character. Any given computer
(especially servers) needs to support many different encodings; yet
whenever data is passed between different encodings or platforms, that
data always runs the risk of corruption.  Unicode is changing all
that!

Unicode provides a unique number for every character, no matter what
the platform, no matter what the program, no matter what the
language. The Unicode Standard has been adopted by such industry
leaders as Apple, HP, IBM, JustSystems, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP, Sun,
Sybase, Unisys and many others. Unicode is required by modern
standards such as XML, Java, ECMAScript (JavaScript), LDAP, CORBA 3.0,
WML, etc., and is the official way to implement ISO/IEC 10646. It is
supported in many operating systems, all modern browsers, and many
other products. The emergence of the Unicode Standard, and the
availability of tools supporting it, are among the most significant
recent global software technology trends.

Incorporating Unicode into client-server or multi-tiered applications
and websites offers significant cost savings over the use of legacy
character sets. Unicode enables a single software product or a single
website to be targeted across multiple platforms, languages and
countries without re-engineering. It allows data to be transported
through many different systems without corruption.  About the Unicode
Consortium

The Unicode Consortium is a non-profit organization founded to
develop, extend and promote use of the Unicode Standard, which
specifies the representation of text in modern software products and
standards. The membership of the consortium represents a broad
spectrum of corporations and organizations in the computer and
information processing industry. The consortium is supported
financially solely through membership dues. Membership in the Unicode
Consortium is open to organizations and individuals anywhere in the
world who support the Unicode Standard and wish to assist in its
extension and implementation.
