FYI. Custom Unicode normalization of Biblical Hebrew using BabelPad

[DavidHaslam]

BabelPad

The BabelPad Unicode text editor for the Windows platform includes an Option for the custom Normalization of Biblical Hebrew that was based on the combining group scheme referred to in the SBL Hebrew font User Manual.

BabelPad developer Andrew West added this option at my suggestion in July/August 2014.

"The vowels and accents are ordered by the specified non-standard combining groups in the table. This ordering is a minor expansion of the custom mark ordering proposed by John Hudson of Tiro Typeworks in his SBL Hebrew Font User Manual that is part of the SBL Hebrew font release. Marks with lower values appear closer to the preceding consonant. Marks having the same combining class appear in the order in which they appear in the WLC text. "

NB. When the custom normalization option was added to BabelBad, the "minor expansion" was not known to either of us.

BabelPad uses the custom combining classes given in Appendix B of John Hudson's user manual, from which it is possible to work out the sole minor difference between BabelPad's implementation and the definitions in the Coding.xml page at tanach.us.

The sole minor difference

The phrase "minor expansion" was significant in that it only affects the relative order of the two marks LOWER DOT and UPPER DOT that are known also as puncta extraordinaria.

I recommend BabelPad unreservedly. I wouldn't be without it.

Best regards,

David Haslam
Volunteer for CrossWire Bible Society

[DavidTroidl]

Thanks. I have been using BabelPad for years, but haven't gotten as deeply into it as you have.

[DavidHaslam]

I still use it a lot.

Some such features resulted from my suggestions to Andrew West of BabelStone.

Aside: Andrew is a Sinologist. He was instrumental in getting the Morrison collection lodged at the library at SOAS in London.