Read other language character

[ust3]

I use RHEL linux , with default 'us" language setting , use the Netterm to telnet the system , the client desktop is English windows 2000 / XP , now we can read English / Chinese Character in the linux system with NO any problem , but there is problem to read the other language such as germany , japanese , can advise what is wrong ? do I need to enable or install something ? thx

[Matti_Kurkela]

There are several possible causes for your problem: I think it's either related to the character encoding you've chosen or to the font you're using in Netterm.

Most new Linux distributions today prefer using Unicode UTF-8 character encoding. If your RHEL version does that, the "us" language setting is not likely to be a problem. In this case the Netterm is receiving correct data but fails to display it properly.
(You did not specify which version of RHEL you're using, so I cannot check this.)

There are many ways to encode the Chinese, Japanese and European special characters. Only Unicode can encode all of them simultaneously. If any other encoding is used, it will restrict the available number of characters: if, for example, you have configured Netterm for Chinese encoding and try to display a file with Japanese encoding, you're likely to get jumbled strings of Chinese characters that make no sense.

To make matters worse, there are several possible character encodings even with just Chinese text. Mainland China might use GuoBiao encoding, while Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao might use Big5 encoding. The Chinese seem to like Unicode, so this problem may be going away.

There are even more non-Unicode possibilities with Japanese text: these encodings are often called JIS, SJIS and EUC. If these encodings are mis-identified, you'll get transformed characters - or "mojibake" as the Japanese call it. The Japanese seem to be hesitant to change to Unicode encoding, so you'd better be prepared to make encoding conversions at your end if necessary.

To identify what kind of character problem you're having, you would have to describe what kind of character errors you're seeing. A screenshot would be the best way to convey this information.

If you're seeing a jumbled mess of seemingly random characters, it's likely that you're using a character encoding that does not match the encoding of the text you're reading.

If the problem is that characters are replaced with squares or other generic replacement characters, it might be that you're trying to display non-UTF8 text on an UTF8-configured terminal... or that the character is good, but the font you're using does not contain that character, so it cannot be displayed.

With older non-Unicode encodings, it was somewhat reasonable to expect that a font designed to use with any given character encoding provided *complete* support for that encoding.

With Unicode this is not the case: to provide a complete Unicode support, the font would need to contain characters for *all* writing systems that can be expressed with Unicode. This is rarely needed in practice, and would make the font files huge.

So you'll need to ensure that the font you're using with Netterm contains a subset of Unicode that is large enough for your needs. The German characters are usually the easiest in this regard: they're just a few extra characters that are mostly variations of basic ANSI characters. It might be more difficult to find a font that has both Chinese and Japanese characters well covered.

MK

[ust3]

thx reply ,

I know it is difficult to find a font that can display all kind of character , I have try all fonts in netterm , but all can't display it , but it is strange that we try to use simpified chinese windows ( GB code ) with netterm , it can display Germany (the same linux RHEL 3 server ) , so I guess it may be caused by the difference of client windows , may be that simpfied chinese windows is Germany supported , if this , what I need to do ? please advise . thx