space

The Kotoistus keyboard layout specifies that AltGr+space should
produce nobreakspace. In the Finnish version of X windows, AltGr+space 
has previously been used to produce a space, because the space
key is too often pressed accidentally after one has produced some
character which is generated with AltGr.

The decision (2007-10-10) is to produce a nobreakspace, and thus follow
the soon-to-be Finnish standard (Kotoistus keyboard layout).

1. Arguments in favor of producing a space:
(a) Especially when we produce multiple characters all needing the AltGr modifier,
    it is easy to generate the wrong character.
To demonstrate, please type the following line:

(a | b | c)

It is too easy to accidentally type 

(a{nobreakspace}|{nobreakspace}b{nobreakspace}|{nobreakspace}c)


With this example, we don't usually produce text that behaves 
wrong. However, the result is not what we wanted. If one, for example, 
searches for the string "a ", it is not found because the character 
which appears to be a space isn't one. 

Bigger problems occur if the program is not able to handle nobreakspace as
whitespace. 

(b) nobreakspace behaves differently from space, but these two characters cannot
    be visually distinguished from each other. 

2. Arguments in favor of producing a nobreakspace:
(a) The nobreakspace is in common use in Finnish, e.g. to separate thousandths in
    large numbers.
(b) It is important that users have the same experience using all implementations
    of the Finnish keyboard.

TODO:
-Applications should visually express the nobreakspace character, to distinguish it
 from the space character.
-Applications should use whitespace checking methods which take into account the
 entire repertoire of possible whitespace characters in Unicode.


This page is maintained by Troy Korjuslommi.