The International Register contains character sets which have been registered in accordance with procedures specified in ISO 2375. Its purpose is to identify widely used character sets and associate with each a unique escape sequence by means of which it can be designated conveniently.

The publication of this Register promotes compatibility in international information interchange and avoids duplication of effort in developing application-oriented character sets. Registration provides an identification for a character set but implies nothing about its status; it may or may not be part of an international or a national standard, or of an application-oriented standard. However, when such a standard is issued subsequent to the registration of an escape sequence, it is appropriate to specify in the standard the escape sequence identifying the character set.

If it is desired to register a set, application should be made as required in ISO 237S. Any character set can be candidate for registration if it satisfies the technical requirements of ISO 2022 and the formal requirements of ISO 2375. Its characteristics will determine the type of escape sequence which can be allocated to it.

The registration procedure and the maintenance of the Register is performed by an International Registration Authority. ECMA, the European Computer Manufacturers Association, has been designated by the Council of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as the Registration Authority for ISO 2375.

ECMA carries out these duties as a free service to the international data processing community. It advises applicants on the requirements to be met by applications, circulating the applications in conformance with the procedures. It allocates the escape sequence and finally registers each character set with its specific escape sequence. After each registration owners of the Register receive the corresponding additional sheets of the Register.

1. GENERAL

ECMA has been appointed by the ISO Council as Registration Authority for ISO 2375 and started its duties on Jan. 1, 1982. In addition to the basic principles to be applied, it has been found that a number of practical decisions must be taken in order to provide a uniform presentation of the International Register. This document presents the practice of the Registration Authority. It is intended as a guide for applicants.

The registration scheme of ISO 2375 has been designed in order to establish an International Register of coded characters, identified by specific escape sequences. It is essential that the contents of the registered character sets be unambiguous and that differences among the registered character sets be easily understood. For these reasons the following principles have been established:

Where required, the Registration Authority re-drafts all code tables using the OCR-B font (ISO 1073). Letters, accented letters and a number of symbols not contained in the OCR-B character set have been designed by the Registration Authority.

Based on the usage in ISO 646, ISO 1073/2, ISO 2022 and ISO 6429 all names of characters shall be written using capital letters, the graphic symbols for small letters, hyphen, and in some cases also apostrophe. Acronyms of control functions shall also be written using capital letters.

The Registration Authority has developed a unified terminology based on the following principles.
 

i) The basic terminology is that of ISO 646, ISO 1073/2, and ISO 6429. The names of characters not contained in these international standards are structured in the same style.
 
 

ii) The names should describe the graphic symbol representing a graphic character rather than specifying its meaning.

Example

is called CAPITAL GREEK LETTER OMEGA and not "Ohm Sign" .

is called LEFT PARENTHESIS and not "Open Parenthesis" as in right-to-left writing this character is a "Close Parenthesis".
is called MIDDLE DOT and not "Multiply Sign
 

iii) Names formed of several words, among them one or more adjectives, shall start with the adjective(s)

 

Example

RIGHT DOUBLE QUOTATION MARK and not "Double Quotation Mark Right.
 

iv) The names should be accurate and prevent different interpretations.

Example

is called VULGAR FRACTION ONE QUARTER and not "Fraction One Quarter" as this would be also correct for 0,25. The latter will be called DECIMAL FRACTION ONE QUARTER, if the case arises.
 

V) Where names are used in a confusing manner in different parts of the world, a designation is selected which causes least problem.

     Example
  is called PILCROW SIGN and not PARAGRAPH SIGN which is ambiguous as another character is meant by this designation in the whole of Europe.
  vi) Only in very particular cases, for instance in character sets for very specialized applications, can a name be retained which designates a graphic symbol normally having another name.      Example  will be called PRIME in the registration of the character set of ISO 6862 rather than APOSTROPHE   will be called DOUBLE PRIME in the same context rather than QUOTATION MARK.   In these cases the Registration Authority exerts its best judgement in the interest of clarity.  
  vii) Characters should not have an alternative name, unless this is unavoidable. Example   has to be called HYPHEN, MINUS   However, in a specialized character set, as mentioned in vi) above, it would probably be only called MINUS.  
  viii) The graphic style of a font cannot per se be the subject of registration. However, in special cases the Registration Authority may agree to issue a code table in a style different from OCR-B. Registration 68 is an examp1e of a compromise solution. The capital alphabet is represented in italics as usual in APL applications. Its elements have been called CAPITAL APL LETTERS in order to imply that there is something special about them, but, as a matter of principle, they could not be named "Italic Letters".  
  ix) Where a control character set contains a control function the definition of which is equivalent to that of a control function of ISO 646 or ISO 6429 (or of another TC97/SC2 standard) the same acronym and the same name shall be used. Names and acronyms of control functions from these standards shall not be used for control functions having different, incompatible definitions.   X) When new character sets are registered, it may happen that a name chosen in a previous registration proves to be inadequate. In such cases this name may be changed in further registrations.   xi) If provided by the Sponsoring Authority a cross reference list of character names will be appended to the registration. This list will show the names used in the International Register and those used by the Sponsoring Authority.
 

NOTE
Multiple-byte graphic character sets require a special editing.  The code table is divided in twelve sub-tables and preceded by a summary of tis contents.