Subject: Chinese BIG5 environment: FAQ of alt.chinese.text.big5

From: [email-masked] (Hsiao-Yang Cheng)
Date: 26 Jul 1993 06:42:25 GMT

Archive-name: chinese-text/big5-faq
Last-modified: July 24, 1993
Version: 1.0

  This article contains the answers to some Frequently Asked Questions
often seen in alt.chinese.text.big5. It also contains some FAQ mailed
to [email-masked]. We hope before you post or mail a question
about alt.chinese.text.big5, please make sure that the answer is not
already here. If you find this article doesn't include your questions
or some answers of this articles are not complete, please e-mail to 
[email-masked]. We will try to help you.

		   BIG-5 码 中文环境 的  问 与 答
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>> Table of Contents <<<<

	[0] How many people read a.c.t and a.c.t.b ?
	[1] Where can I find the latest version of this FAQ ?
	[2] If you have trouble with this group, and you cannot find
	    any solutions in this FAQ, how can you do ?
	[3] What's the differences between alt.chinese.text and 
	    alt.chinese.text.big5 ?
	[4] What should I know before I want to read alt.chinese.text.big5 ?
	[5] Do I need to crosspost my articles to both alt.chinese.text
	    and alt.chinese.text.big5 ?
	[6] Where can I find most of the software mentioned here ?
	[7] How can I view articles in alt.chinese.text.big5 from UNIX
	    hosts ?
	[8] What should I prepare if I want to input Chinese BIG5 code 
	    under UNIX environment ?
	[9] How can I make "cxterm" work in my system ?
       [10] How can I remotely display cxterm to my local X host if I don't 
	    have cxterm installed in my local host ?
       [11] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars in PC ?
       [12] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via modem connection 
	    in PC?
       [13] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via NCSA Telnet
	    utility in PC?
       [14] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via NCSA Telnet
	    utility in Macintosh?
       [15] How can I utilize ChiRK to read BIG5 Chinese text ?
       [16] Why can't I read Chinese BIG5 mail in "elm"?     
       [17] Why can't I send out Chinese BIG5 mail ?
       [18] Is it possible to mail my article to alt.chinese.text.big5 ?
       [19] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under GNU Emacs 19.XX ?
       [20] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under vi ?
       [21] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under joe editor ?
       [22] Where can I get the "talk", "screen", ... etc. which support 
	    Chinese BIG5 characters ?
       [23] Which gopher servers can I get Chinese BIG5 stuff from ?
       [24] Why can my gopher not display Chinese BIG5 directories ?
       [25] How can I write Chinese BIG5 code in IRC (Internet Relay Chat)
	    environment ?
       [26] Is the MUD game support Chinese BIG5 code ?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

[0] How many people read a.c.t and a.c.t.b ?

      The following is the set of data from USENET readership report for
    Jun 1993.

        +-- Estimated total number of people who read the group, worldwide.
        |     +-- Actual number of readers in sampled population
        |     |     +-- Propagation: how many sites receive this group at all
        |     |     |      +-- Recent traffic (messages per month)
        |     |     |      |      +-- Recent traffic (kilobytes per month)
        |     |     |      |      |      +-- Crossposting percentage
        |     |     |      |      |      |    +-- Cost ratio: $US/month/rdr
        |     |     |      |      |      |    |      +-- Share: % of newsrders
        |     |     |      |      |      |    |      |   who read this group.
        V     V     V      V      V      V    V      V
   1 240000  4272   91%     1    13.6   100%  0.00  10.1%  news.announce.newusers
   2 240000  4258   88%     4    97.1   100%  0.00  10.0%  news.answers
.............
  60  82000  1442   75%  2400  7736.5    41%  0.11   3.4%  soc.culture.china
.............
 139  63000  1109   72%  1351  2553.8     6%  0.05   2.6%  soc.culture.hongkong
.............
 256  49000   863   72%   463   868.8    19%  0.02   2.0%  soc.culture.taiwan
.............
 548  34000   596   54%  1857  3801.1     1%  0.10   1.4%  alt.chinese.text
.............
1626  12000   202   36%   484   923.6     0%  0.04   0.5%  alt.chinese.text.big5

[1] Where can I find the latest version of this FAQ ?

      a) The FAQ will be posted monthly in alt.chinese.text and 
	 alt.chinese.text.big5. The FAQ you can find in these two groups 
	 should be the lastest version.

      b) If you have ftp access, you also can get a fresh copy of this FAQ
	 from :
	   pit-manager.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/news.answers/chinese-text/big5-faq
	   ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/chinese-text/big5-faq.

[2] If you have troubles with this group, and you cannot find any solutions
    in this FAQ, how can you do ?

      Certainly, post your questions into alt.chinese.text or
    alt.chinese.text.big5 is the best way, we think. There are thousands of
    people reading these two group every day. They will share their 
    experience to you whenever they've seen your problems. If you 
    can hardly access these two groups, please mail your problems to
    [email-masked]. There will be people there trying to help you.

[3] What's the differences between alt.chinese.text and
    alt.chinese.text.big5 ?

      Generally speaking, the contents of these two groups are the same.
    The difference between these two groups is the encoding method of
    Chinese characters. In alt.chinese.text, we usually use "HZ" protocol
    and "simplified form" Chinese chars, which is popular in mainland China
    and is assembled by two 7-bit ASCII characters. In alt.chinese.text.big5,
    we usually use "BIG5" character set and "complicated form" Chinese chars,
    which is popular in Taiwan and Hong Kong and is assembled by two 8-bit
    ASCII characters. To make consistency of contents between these two 
    groups, there is a gateway program running in news.csie.nctu.edu.tw. 
    In other words, if you post a "HZ" article into alt.chinese.text, you 
    will find an another your BIG5 posing in alt.chinese.text.big5, and 
    vice versa. 
      Consequently, all you must keep in mind is that if you want to post 
    "HZ" articles, you must and can just post them into alt.chinese.text;
    if you want to post "BIG5" articles, you must and can just post them 
    into alt.chinese.text.big5. If you post "HZ"'s into alt.chinese.text.big5
    or post "BIG5"'s into alt.chinese.text, the gateway program in 
    news.csie.nctu.edu.tw will ignore them.

[4] What should I know before I want to read alt.chinese.text.big5 ?

      The most important thing you must know is that the BIG5 is a 8-bit
    protocol. In other words, before you want to access the a.c.t.b group
    or you want to send out BIG5 packets, please make sure your local network
    is 8-bit clean. As you may know, UUCP is a traditional 7-bit network, so
    if your news are fed from a UUCP site, than you probably cannot read
    articles in alt.chinese.text.big5.

[5] Do I need to crosspost my articles to both alt.chinese.text and 
    alt.chinese.text.big5 ?

      No, you needn't and cannot. There is a gateway program running in
    news.csie.nctu.edu.tw to ensure the contents' consistency between
    these two groups. If you post a article to the both groups, you 
    will see duplicate articles in a.c.t and a.c.t.b. 
      Generally, if your articles contain GB code, please post those articles
    into alt.chinese.text; if your articles contain BIG5 code, please
    post them to alt.chinese.text.big5.

[6] Where can I find most of the software mentioned here ?

      If there is no special indication, almost all the software mentioned
    here can be got from the following sites :

	ifcss.org[129.107.1.155]:/software
	nctuccca.edu.tw[140.111.3.21]:/Chinese
	ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw[140.113.17.166]:/pub/Chinese

[7] How can I view articles in alt.chinese.text.big5 from UNIX hosts ?

      If you are sure that your hosts can accept 8-bit data packet, then :

    a) In X-windows, cxterm is the best utility to emulate Chinese BIG5 
       environment.
    b) In PC or Mac, you must run a 8-bit terminal emulator under a Chinese
       BIG5 system.

[8] What should I prepare if I want to input Chinese BIG5 code under UNIX 
    environment ?

      In BSD-like system, you must set : "stty pass8"
      In SYSV-like system, you must set : "stty -istrip -cs8"

      If the utilities you are using have utilized the "setlocale" function,
    you can set the following environment variable :

      In SunOS and Solaris      : "setenv LC_CTYPE iso_8859_1"
      In IBM AIX 3.2.X[3.1.X ?] : set your language environment to those which
			 	  use 8-bit char set (such as ISO8859-?). You 
				  also can change your environment variable
				  "LANG" to an appropriate one. (such as
				  "En_US").
      SGI IRIX 4.X 		: "setenv LC_CTYPE english.iso88591"
      HP-UX 			: "setenv LC_CTYPE english.iso88591"
				  or "setenv LC_CTYPE american.iso88591"
				  or "setenv LC_CTYPE chinese-t.big5"
      Others			: Try to "man setlocale" for details or
				  ask the vendors how to re-define the
				  international language environment.

[9] How can I make "cxterm" work in my system ?

      Cxterm is a good terminal emulator for BIG 5 environment. If your
    cxterm has problems, please reference the following procedures step
    by step.

    a) Get the source of cxterm. You can get it from

	cs.purdue.edu:/pub/ygz
	ifcss.org:/software/unix/X-Window
	ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/x-win

         Remember that cxterm-11.4.X.tar.Z is for X11 R4 base system, whereas
       cxterm-11.5.X.tar.Z is for X11 R5 base system. So before you want to
       install cxterm, you must confirm that whether your X is R4 or R5.
       (eg. Openwin 3.0 is R4 base).

    b) look at subdirectory "cxterm-platforms" under the above ftp site
       . There are some patches for different OSs. ( Solaris's patch is only
       available in ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw).

    c) Compile and install cxterm.

    d) Retrieve BIG 5 fonts and Chinese input dictionaries. You can
       also get some existed examples from (a)'s ftp sites. But if you
       prefer ETen Chinese system (a popular PC Chinese system in Taiwan),
       there are many good stuff in ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/x-win.

    e) Decide which directory you want to put all Chinese input dictionaries.
       Convert .tit files to .cit files.

    f) Convert all .bdf fonts' file to which your system accept.( please try
       to look up man page of "bdftosnf", "bdftopcf", "convertfont" .....
       etc.)
	 Generally, X11R5 needs ".pcf" files, X11R4 needs ".snf" files, 
       X11/NeWS (Openwin) needs ".fb" or ".fm" files. And some systems
       need these font files to be compressed.

    g) Decide which directory you want to put all Chinese fonts. In that
       directory, you should run "mkfontdir <dir_path>". And in your
       .xinitrc, you should add "xset +fp <chinese_font_path>". To ensure
       your Chinese fonts can be searched, you may run "xlsfonts".

    h) In your resource file of xterm (eg. ~/XTerm), add the following lines :
       ------------------------------------
	cxterm*HanziEncoding:   BIG5
	cxterm*hanziInputDir:	<Dir where the chinese dictionaries exist>
	cxterm*HanziFont:	<Default chinese font's name>
	cxterm*Font:		<Default english font's name>
      ------------------------------------------------------------------------
       Remember you also can override the above settings by giving command
       line options of cxterm.

     i) If you want to input Chinese chars, you may need to set up 
	different key-binding for different input methods in your
	resource file of xterm. Please refer to man page of "cxterm" for 
	detail. the following is an example :
----------------------------------------------
cxterm*VT100.Translations:      #override  		\       
	<KeyPress> F1:  switch-HZ-mode(ASCII)           \n\
        <KeyPress> F2:  switch-HZ-mode(IC)              \n\
  Shift <KeyPress> F3:  switch-HZ-mode(TONEPY)          \n\
 ~Shift <KeyPress> F3:  switch-HZ-mode(PY-b5)           \n\
  Shift <KeyPress> F4:  switch-HZ-mode(PY)              \n\
-------------------------------------------------------------------

     j) In X-windows environment, run "cxterm".

[10] How can I remotely display cxterm in my local X host if I don't have
     cxterm installed in my local host ?

       First of all, you must confirm the cxterm resides in remote machine
     can work well.
       Second, you must have X-server running in your local machine.
       Third, reference (d),(f),(g) of question [9]. Setup all fonts needed
     in your local machine. Remember you must ensure that the fonts you want
     to use can be searched by your X-server ( local machine).
       And the last, open your local X access control, and run
		"cxterm -d <local_hostname>:0"

     Hope you can use the cxterm now....

[11] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars in PC ?

       Of course you must run Chinese system in advance. There are many 
     popular commercial products for PC, such as ETen, HAN, KC, C-Windows
     ...etc. All this software can be bought from Taiwan and Hong Kong. 
     By the way, KC system is distributed freely among TANET (Taiwan 
     Academy NETwork), everyone in Taiwan can get a copy from 
     moers2.edu.tw:/chinese-pub/chinese-sys/kc.

[12] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via modem connection in PC?

       First of all, you must confirm that your terminal emulater and
     modem are set up 8-bit clean. Load BIG5 Chinese system in PC.
       Most of the problems why you can't read/write Chinese BIG5 chars
     through modem connection are due to your host system configuration. 
     In Taiwan, our terminal servers with tty service from tel lines 
     are set to 8-bits manually. But as we known, the setup in UNIX by 
     defaults is to pass 7-bits. So, if you have already BIG5 Chinese 
     system installed, but can't view BIG5 code, you must negotiate with
     your system admin to persuade them to set 8-bits in the tty line. 
     ( /etc/gettytab, and /etc/ttytab for SUN-OS)

[13] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via NCSA Telnet utility in PC?

      Load BIG5 Chinese system in PC.
      You must use 8-bits clean telnet. Try to get it from  
   moers2.ecu.tw:/chinese-pub/ncsa/{ncu,nctu,itri,iii}. 
   (nctuccca.edu.tw is a mirror site of moers2.edu.tw). Or use "cutcp"
   (another NCSA ), in which only rlogin is 8-bits clean. If you want to
   get the lastest version of NCTU's 8-bit telnet, please get it from
   ftp,csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/msdos/NCSA.

[14] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 chars via NCSA Telnet
     utility in Macintosh?

       Please get a modified 8-bit binary code from

     imftp.mgt.ncu.edu.tw[140.115.83.90]:/pub/chinese/Telnet2.5c.sea.bin
     ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/Mac

[15] How can I utilize ChiRK to read BIG5 Chinese text ?

       ChiRK stands for "CHInese Reader on teKtronics compatible graphics
     terminals". Now ChiRK 1.2a has been tested and works without any ( yet)
     problem on following terminals: Tektronics 4010/4014; GraphOn 225, 230,
     140; DEC VT240, VT330/340; XTerm; Tektool on SunView; EM4105 on IBM-PC;
     VersaTerm-Pro on Macintosh, etc. And it should work on any other type of
     Tek compatible terminal with few, if any, lines of the codes changed. For
     BIG5 characters, there is only one bitmap available (chinese.16). 

       ChiRK is available from ifcss.org:/software/unix/viewer/ChiRK-*.tar.Z,
     please refer to its installation guild for detail.

[16] Why can't I read Chinese BIG5 mail in "elm"?

       Please reference Question [8] at first.
       And then please check your elm's configuration in installation. If
     you compile in "mime" option, the "character set" should be "ISO-8859-1",
     and the "Content-Transfer-Encoding" should be 8-bit.

[17] Why can't I send out Chinese BIG5 mail ?

       Please check Question [4] to see if you meet the requirement. Then 
     you must ensure that your mailer won't strip out the 8th bit. If your
     host has a mailing relay host, you also must ensure that your relay
     host accept 8-bit mail and won't strip out 8th bit.

       If you finally find out you cannot send 8-bit mail, you may want to
     try "uuencode/uudecode" mail. Please "man uuencode" and "man uudecode".

[18] Is it possible to mail my article to alt.chinese.text.big5 ?

       Yes. you can mail your articles to 
     		[email-masked].
     But you must confirm that you can send out 8-bit mail in advance.
     Please refer to [16].

[19] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under GNU Emacs 19.XX ?

   1. In your ~/.emacs, including :

      (set-input-mode (car (current-input-mode))
		      (nth 1 (current-input-mode))
		      0)
      
      Then your emacs will recognize 8-bit input.

   2. To let emacs display 8-bit characters, type the following command
      in emacs :

      M-x standard-display-european

[20] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under vi ?

       Originally vi can accept 8-bit characters. If you want to use 
     original vi to write Chinese BIG5 chars, you'd better refer to [18] 
     to set proper LC_CTYPE environment variable. But you may have trouble
     with BIG5 2-byte codes. "celvis" is a modified version and a good
     substitute for Chinese BIG5 environment.

[21] How can I read/write Chinese BIG5 code under joe editor ?

       joe is a popular WordStar-like editor in UNIX. You can get it from
     ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/unix/joe. 
       To enable joe can accept 8-bit chars, you must include "-asis" option
     in your ".joerc" file.

[22] Where can I get the "talk", "screen", ... etc. which support Chinese
     BIG5 characters ?

       There are some modified sources which you can find under
     ftp.csie.nctu.edu.tw:/pub/Chinese/unix.

[23] Which gopher servers can I get Chinese BIG5 stuff from ?

       telnet gopher.csie.nctu.edu.tw 4270
     or
       telnet gopher.ccu.edu.tw
       telnet cc.nsysu.edu.tw	,  with login name : "gopher".

[24] Why can my gopher not display Chinese BIG5 directories ?

       If you are in BSD system, you must re-compile your gopher with
     SYSV curses library. For example, in SunOS, use :

       CC=/usr/5bin/cc
       CFLAGS=-I/usr/5include
       LDFLAGS=-L/usr/5lib -lcurses -ltermcap

     And remember change your PAGER to "cless", "more", or "pg", which won't
     strip out 8th bit.

[25] How can I write Chinese BIG5 code in IRC (Internet Relay Chat) 
   environment ?

     You can get the lastest version of IRC client from
		nic.funet.fi:/pub/unix/irc/ircII
   and put the following line in ~/.ircrc
   		/set translation LATIN_1
   If you want to set system's default to 8-bit, you must include the above
   setting in $IRCII_LIBRARY/script/local.

[26] Is the MUD support Chinese BIG5 code ?

   * What is a MUD?

  A MUD (Multiple User Dimension, Multiple User Dungeon, or Multiple User
  Dialogue) is a computer program which users can log into and explore.
  Each user takes control of a computerized persona/avatar/incarnation/
  character.  You can walk around, chat with other characters, explore
  dangerous monster-infested areas, solve puzzles, and even create your
  very own rooms, descriptions and items.  You can also get lost or confused
  if you jump right in, so be sure to read MUD's document before starting.

   * What is a Chinese(BIG5) MUD?

    There are two definitions, they are:

        (1) a MUD which can receive Chinese(BIG5) messages and send 
	    Chinese(BIG5) messages.
        (2) Including (1), a Chinese(BIG5) MUD which enable Chinese(BIG5)
	    interface which you can find every message becomes Chinese(BIG5)
	    from English.

   * How to use a Chinese(BIG5) MUD?

    A Chinese(BIG5) MUD is the same as an English MUD, the difference is a
    Chinese(BIG5) MUD can receive and show Chinese(BIG5) characters just
    like Chinese(BIG5) talk.

    If you telnet from a workstation with UNIX system, and under a Chinese
    (BIG5) system. You can type Chinese BIG5 code and see Chinese BIG5 
    characters directly for you are under [stty pass8].

    If you telnet from PC, first, you must make sure your telnet software
    can transmit 8-bit characters. Second, your telnet must be under a 
    Chinese(BIG5) Environment. 

    If you telnet from UNIX on workstation, and you telnet to workstation
    by a PC, then you have to use 8-bit telnet software on PC under 
    Chinese(BIG5) Environment, and set stty pass8 in your account on
    workstation.
    
   * Where are Chinese(BIG5) MUDs?

    The following are available sites of definition (1) of Chinese(BIG5)
    MUD  :

    (a) telnet 140.113.17.168 4000 ( ccsun44.csie.nctu.edu.tw 4000 )
        Merc diku mud 1.0 ( public )
    (b) telnet 140.113.17.168 4040 ( ccsun44.csie.nctu.edu.tw 4040 )
        Merc diku mud 2.0 ( under testing )
    (c) telnet 140.117.11.33 4000  ( irc.nsysu.edu.tw 4000)
	Merc diku mud 1.0

    If you have problems of (a) or (b) site, please e-mail to 
		[email-masked]
    If you have problems with (c) site, please e-mail to
		[email-masked]

==== The End =================================================================

Computer Center
Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering
National Chiao Tung University
HsinChu, Taiwan, 300

--
System Manager of Computer Center          |     Sincerely Yours
Computer Science & Information Engineering | Cheng, Hsiao-Yang ( 陈 晓 阳 )  
National Chiao Tung University             | [email-masked]
Taiwan, Republic of China                  | [email-masked]