| Q |
What is the Shift JIS code? |
| A |
A character code altered for
use with PCs. |
Shift JIS is a character
code based on the JIS standards JIS X 0201 and
JIS X 0208 in which the code numbers have been
altered to make them easier to handle.
For this reason, the characters that can be used
are those specified by the above two standards.
However, because different makers have applied
their own proprietary extensions to the
characters that can be used, in many cases it is
possible to use characters that are not in the
JIS standards. For example, circled numbers and
Roman numerals are proprietary extensions.
Unfortunately, usage of such characters can often
cause problems during data transfer, so their use
is not encouraged. When the characters available
are insufficient, it is necessary to use a
character set that contains more characters, or
utilize a system that is designed to handle those
problems, such as XKP.
Basically, the characters available are limited
to those in JIS X 0208, which makes it unsuitable
for large-scale use.
In addition, as the year of compliancy to the JIS
code varies between makers and devices, there may
be some differences in their content.
Furthermore, it is not fully expandable, and in
its present form it has no method for increasing
the number of characters contained.
Shift JIS is based on the concepts of full-width
and half-width characters, as well as one- and
two-byte characters. These were used as methods
of expression during the 1980s, when PC
functionality was limited, but now, when PCs have
greatly improved, the idea of full-width and
half-width characters has been disposed with, and
it is more usual to specify the character size
and other elements through the choice of font.
Example of
characters from maker's proprietary extensions
|
