Formal SignWriting

Sutton SignWriting is the universal and complete solution for written sign language. It has been applied by a wide and deep international community of sign languages including: American Sign Language, Arabian Sign Languages, Australian Sign Language, Bolivian Sign Language, Brazilian Sign Language, British Sign Language, Catalan Sign Language, Colombian Sign Language, Czech Sign Language, Danish Sign Language, Dutch Sign Language, Ethiopian Sign Language, Finnish Sign Language, Flemish Sign Language, French-Belgian Sign Language, French Sign Language, German Sign Language, Greek Sign Language, Irish Sign Language, Italian Sign Language, Japanese Sign Language, Malawi Sign Language, Malaysian Sign Language, Maltese Sign Language, Mexican Sign Language, Nepalese Sign Language, New Zealand Sign Language, Nicaraguan Sign Language, Norwegian Sign Language, Peruvian Sign Language, Philippines Sign Language, Polish Sign Language, Portugese Sign Language, Quebec Sign Language, South African Sign Language, Spanish Sign Language, Swedish Sign Language, Swiss Sign Language, Taiwanese Sign Language, and Tunisian Sign Language. Sutton SignWriting is an international standard for writing sign languages by hand or with computers. From education to research, from entertainment to religion, SignWriting has proven useful because people are using it to write signed languages.

Sign language is vastly different than spoken language. Instead of the sequential sounds of the voice, there is a 3 dimensional space with simultaneous action. Sutton SignWriting creates 2-dimensional writing that is visually icon and full of featural information. This is true on the symbol level and on the sign level. A symbol represents phonemic information and is full of featural information to better understand the phonemes of the symbols. A sign is a 2-dimensional arrangement of symbols and is full of featural information to better understand the morphemes of the signs. Punctuation is represented by a single symbol and separates a series of signs into structured sentences. Line breaks should not occur before punctuation. When written vertically, SignWriting can use 3 different lanes: left, middle, and right. The middle lane is the default lane and punctuation is always used in the middle lane. No matter the lane, the center of a sign is aligned with the center of the lane. The left and right lanes are used to represent body weight shifts and are represented by a horizontal offset from the middle lane. Body weight shifts are important to the grammar of sign languages, used for two different grammatical aspects: 1) role shifting during sign language storytelling, and 2) spatial comparisons of two items under discussion. One "role" or "item" is placed on the right side of the body (right lane), and the other on the left side of the body (left lane), and the weight shifts back and forth between the two, with the narrator in the middle (middle lane).

The Sutton SignWriting characters are the building blocks of Sutton SignWriting. The characters are arranged in 2 dimensions to create the sign images. Each character identifies a symbol of the International SignWriting Alphabet 2010 (ISWA 2010), a symbol set created by Valerie Sutton. The characters are organized as a 16-bit coded character set.

Formal SignWriting (FSW) is a faithful character-encoding of Sutton SignWriting based on 2-dimensional mathematics. FSW defines a formal language for written sign languages where any sign of any sign language can be written as a string of ASCII characters. Each sign is written as a separate word.

The mathematical words of Formal SignWriting are plain text strings of characters. These names are described with regular expressions. Formal languages and regular expressions are used to solve fundamental problems. Regular Expression Basics Characters Description Example *Match a literal 0 or more times ABC* matches AB, ABC, ABCC, ... + Match a literal 1 or more times ABC+ matches ABC, ABCC, ABCCC, ... ? Match a literal 0 or 1 times ABC? matches AB or ABC {#} Match a literal "#" times AB{2} matches ABB [ ] Match any single literal from a list [ABC] matches A, B, or C [ - ] Match any single literal in a range [A-C] matches A, B, or C ( ) Creates a group for matching A(BC)+ matches ABC, ABCBC, ABCBCBC, ... ( | ) Matches one of several alternatives (AB|BC|CD) will match AB, BC, or CD The Formal SignWriting encoding model makes explicit those features which can be effectively and efficiently processed. The mathematical names are structured with 11 different tokens. They can be grouped in 4 layers: the 5 structural makers (A, B, L, M, R), the 3 base symbol ranges (w, s, P), the 2 modifier indexes (i, o), and the numbers (n). The Tokens of Formal SignWriting Token Description A Sequence Marker B SignBox Marker L Left Lane Marker M Middle Lane Marker R Right Lane Marker w Writing BaseSymbols s Detailed Location BaseSymbols P Punctuation BaseSymbols i Fill Modifiers o Rotation Modifiers n Number from 250 to 749 These tokens are used in patterns to form written sign language. The following token patterns fully describe Formal SignWriting.

Symbol keys can be described with 3 tokens: base symbol, fill modifier, and rotation modifier. Symbol Key Tokens Token Pattern Description w Writing BaseSymbols. s Detailed Location BaseSymbols. P Punctuation BaseSymbols. i Fill Modifiers. o Rotation Modifiers. wioA writing symbol as 3 tokens of writing base, fill modifier and rotation modifier. Writing symbols can be used in the spatial SignBox or the temporal sequence. [ws]ioA writing symbol or a detailed location symbol as 3 tokens of base, fill modifier, and rotation modifier. Writing symbols and detail location symbols can be used in the temporal sequence. PioA punctuation symbol as 3 tokens of punctuation base, fill modifier, and rotation modifier. Punctuation symbols divide signs into sentences. Symbol keys are 6 characters long. The first character of a symbol key is always "S". The next 3 characters identify the symbol base. The last two characters identify the fill and rotation modifiers respectively. Symbol Key Definition Regular Expression Description SStart of symbol key [123][0-9a-f]{2}Symbol key base [0-5]Fill modifier [0-9a-f]Rotation modifier S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f]Symbol key definition Symbol keys can be divided between several types. Each type has a starting and ending base value. Symbol Key Type and Ranges Type Start End Description all symbols 100 38b All symbol keys occur in this range. writing 100 37e Symbols that can be used in the spatial SignBox or the temporal sequence. hand 100 204 Various handshapes movement 205 2f6 Contact symbols, small finger movements, straight arrows, curved arrows and circles. dynamic 2f7 2fe Dynamic symbols are used to give the "feeling" or "tempo" to movement. head 2ff 36c Symbols for the head and face. hcenter 2ff 36c Used to determine the horizontal center of a sign. Same as the head type. vcenter 2ff 375 Use to determine the vertical center of a sign. Includes the head and trunk types. trunk 36d 375 Symbols for torso movement, shoulders, and hips. limb 376 37e Symbols for limbs and fingers. location 37f 386 Details location symbols can only be used in the temporal sequence. punctuation 387 38b Punctual symbols are used to divide signs into sentences.

Coordinates can be described with 2 tokens: number and number. These numbers represent the X and Y coordinates respectively. The number characters encode the ruler principle with characters. The ruler principle is built in automatically for scripts written sequentially in one dimension. The number characters are needed to specify the spatial relationship between symbols. Coordinate Tokens Token Patterns Description n Number from 250 to 749 nnCoordinate with X and Y values as 2 numbers There are 2 definitions for a coordinate. The more general definition simply defines 3 numbers followed by an "x" followed by 3 more numbers. The more explicit definition correctly restricts the number range from 250 to 749. The general coordinate definition is adequate for processing. [0-9]{3} [0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3} (2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{2}|7[0-4][0-9]) (2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{2}|7[0-4][0-9])x(2[5-9][0-9]|[3-6][0-9]{2}|7[0-4][0-9])

The visual image of a logographic sign is a 2-dimension arrangement of symbols inside of a signbox. Each signbox has a defined width, height, and 2-dimensional center that can be calculated from the plain text. Each logographic sign exists on its own 2-dimensional signbox. Each point on the signbox is identified with an X and a Y coordinate. Each signbox has a defined center. Formal numbers range from 250 to 749. Informal number have no limit.

Y Axis | 250 | | | | | X Axis | -----------+------------ 250 | 749 | | | | | | 749 Symbols are placed on the signbox with coordinates that represent the top-left of the symbol image. Symbol images may overlap. The Spatial SignBox can be described with 8 tokens. Spatial SignBox Tokens Token Pattern Description B SignBox Marker L Left Lane Marker M Middle Lane Marker R Right Lane Marker w Writing BaseSymbols i Fill Modifiers o Rotation Modifiers n Number from 250 to 749 wioA writing symbol as 3 tokens of writing base, fill modifier and rotation modifier nnCoordinate with X and Y values as 2 numbers wionnA spatial symbol as 5 tokens, with 3 tokens for a writing symbol and 2 tokens for coordinates of top left placement (wionn)*Zero or more spatial symbols Bnn(wionn)*A signbox with a preprocessed maximum coordinate and a list of spatial symbols used for horizontal writing [LMR]A lane marker: either left, middle or right. [LMR]nn(wionn)*A signbox in either the left, middle, or right lane with a preprocessed maximum coordinate and a list of spatial symbols used for vertical writing The Spatial SignBox is assigned to a lane, has a preprocessed maximum coordinate and zero or more writing symbols with X and Y coordinates. S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f] [0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3} [BLMR]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})* 2-dimensional space does not have a normative 1-dimensional order. When symbols overlap, the relative order of the overlapping symbols is important. Otherwise, the exact string order of the spatial symbols is unpredictable.

The symbols do not have a consistent width or height. The center of a symbol can be safely assumed to be at half-width and half-height. A bounding box for a symbol is based on the symbol width and height. Each symbol has a defined width and height in a text file with 37,811 lines. Alternately, the symbol width and height can be calculated by analyzing the glyphs in a TTF font file, using JavaScript or other language. The bounding box of a sign is a tight box around the symbols. The bounding box is used to determine the width and height of a sign. The center of a bounding box is coordinate 500,500. The bounding box of a sign consists of four values: Minimum X, Minimum Y, Maximum X and Maximum Y. The values of the bounding box is taken straight from the coordinates in an Formal SignWriting word.

The maximum coordinate for a signbox is pre-calculated to simplify layout for width, height, and center. For each symbol, the width of height of that symbol is added to the coordinate position of that symbol. These new coordinate values represent the bottom-right coordinate of each symbol bounding box. The maximum X value is joined with the maximum Y value to determine the maximum coordinate.

To simplify layout and improve 2-dimensional searching, every sign has a normalized center based on symbol type, size, and mathematical formula. The vertical center is based on the center of the bounding box around the head symbols. The horizontal center is based on the center of the bounding box around the head and trunk symbols. If a sign doesn't contain head or trunk symbols, then the bounding box of all symbols is used. For the symbol ranges see Once the center of a sign has been determined, the symbols are moved so that the center is coordinate 500,500.

Signs are written in 2-dimensional space which does not have a normative 1-dimensional order. Any 1-dimensional order of 2-dimensional space is subjective. Some 1-dimensional orders may be canonical according to a particular theory, but there are a variety of theories on setting a 1-dimensional order. The temporal sequence describes a 1-dimensional order that is separate from the spatial SignBox, rather than ordering the 2-dimensional space directly. The temporal sequence is written as an optional prefix to a spatial SignBox. The temporal sequence will use the same symbols that are used in the spatial SignBox, but it does not need to use all of them and it is not limited to only those symbols. The temporal sequence is a list of writing symbols and/or detailed location symbols that identify temporal order and additional analysis. A valid sequence must contain at least one symbol and can not contain punctuation. The temporal sequence allows for sorting that is universally supported through binary string comparison. There are several theories on the best way to structure a temporal sequence. The most productive is based on the SignSpelling Sequence theory of Valerie Sutton. A temporal sequence is structured as a series of starting handshapes followed by optional movements, transitional handshapes, movement, and end handshapes. Only symbols of type "hand" and "movement" should be used in this first section. The last section of the temporal sequence should contain symbols of of type "dynamic", "head", "trunk", and "limb". Detailed location symbols of type "location" can be used in a temporal sequence, but are rarely (if ever) needed for general writing. A temporal sequence can be described with 5 tokens. Temporal Sequence Tokens Token Patterns Description A Sequence Marker w Writing BaseSymbols s Detailed Location BaseSymbols i Fill Modifiers o Rotation Modifiers (A([ws]io)+)?An optional temporal sequence to be used as a prefix for a SignBox The temporal prefix starts with a sequence marker and includes an ordered list of writing symbols and detailed locations. Temporal Sequence Definition Regular Expression Description (A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f])+)?An optional temporal sequence as a sequence marker followed by one or more symbols.

General signs are written as a spatial SignBox of symbols in 2-dimensional space. Sortable signs include a temporal sequence as a 1-dimensional prefix to the spatial SignBox. Signs are mixed with punctuation to form text. Punctuation is a single symbol and separates a series of signs into structured sentences. A punctuation symbol is always used alone and should not be used in a sign. Line breaks should not occur before punctuation. When written vertically, SignWriting can use 3 different lanes: left, middle, and right. The middle lane is the default lane and punctuation is always used in the middle lane. No matter the lane, the center of a sign is aligned with the center of the lane. For body weight shifts to one side or the other, the center of the sign is aligned with a fixed horizontal offset from the middle lane into either the left or right lane. The left and right lanes are used to represent body weight shifts and are represented by a horizontal offset from the middle lane. Body weight shifts are important to the grammar of sign languages, used for two different grammatical aspects: 1) role shifting during sign language storytelling, and 2) spatial comparisons of two items under discussion. One "role" or "item" is placed on the right side of the body (right lane), and the other on the left side of the body (left lane), and the weight shifts back and forth between the two, with the narrator in the middle (middle lane). Sentence Token Patterns Regular Expression Description Pionna punctuation symbol as a punctuation base symbol with a preprocessed minimum coordinate (((A([ws]io)+)?Bnn(wionn)*)|Pionn)+a sign text for horizontal writing as a string of signboxes (with optional prefixes) and punctuation (((A([ws]io)+)?[LMR]nn(wionn)*)|Pionn)+a sign text for vertical writing as a string of signboxes in lanes (with optional prefixes) and punctuation Sentences mix signs with punctuation to form text. S38[7-9ab][0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3} ((A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f])+)?[BLMR]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})*|S38[7-9ab][0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})( (A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f])+)?[BLMR]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})*| S38[7-9ab][0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})*

The styling string of Formal SignWriting uses a lite markup to define a variety of styling options. The entire sign can be customized for padding, coloring, and size. Individual symbols within a sign can be customized for coloring and size. For SVG output, class names and IDs can be defined. A styling string can be added to the end of any Formal SignWriting string to style a particular sign. Colors can be written as CSS color names or as color hex values. [a-zA-Z]+ [0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})? The styling string is divided into 3 sections: one for the entire sign, one for individual symbols, and one for SVG class names and ID. The styling string starts with a single dash, after which is the section about the entire sign. A second dash, if present, marks the start of the section about the individual symbols. A third dash, if present, marks the start of the section about the SVG class names and ID. The order of the styling options is important. -C?(P[0-9]{2})?(G_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+)_)?(D_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+)(,([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+))?_)?(Z([0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?|x))?(-(D[0-9]{2}_([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+)(,([0-9a-fA-F]{3}([0-9a-fA-F]{3})?|[a-zA-Z]+))?_)*(Z[0-9]{2},[0-9]+(\.[0-9]+)?(,[0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?)*)?(--?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}( -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100})*!([a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}!)?)?

There are several options for styling an entire sign. Colorize Padding Background Detail colors Zoom level

Colorizing a sign will set the color of each symbol based on its classification. 0000CC CC0000 FF0099 006600 000000 884411 FF9900 Styling String Description -CColorize the symbols of the sign

Padding is applied around the entire sign. A two-digit number is used to set the padding. Styling String Description -P01A padding of 1 around the sign

By default, the background of a sign is transparent. The background color can be set with a CSS color name or with a color hex value. The color name or value must be surrounded by underscores. Styling String Description -G_lightblue_Background color of light blue. -G_f00_Background color as 3 hex values. -G_ff0000_Background color as 6 hex values.

By default, each symbol has a line color of black and a fill color of white. The line color for all of the symbols can be set with a CSS color name or with a color hex value. The color name or value must be surrounded by underscores. Setting the fill color is optional. To set the fill color, put a comma and the fill color after the line color but before the closing underscore. Styling String Description -D_red_Line color of red. -D_red,yellow_Line color of red with a fill color of yellow.

By default, a sign is set to zoom level 1. The zoom level can be set with an integer or a decimal number. Alternatively, the zoom level can be set to lower-case 'x', for extendable. The SVG created will not specify the width or height, so that the sign image will fill whatever container it is placed inside. Styling String Description -Z2Zoom level of 2 -Z15.7Zoom level of 15.7 -ZxZoom level of extendable

There are two options for styling individual symbols. Individual symbols are identified by a two-digit number, which identifies the order the symbol appears in the SignBox. Detail colors Zoom level

By default, each symbol has a line color of black and a fill color of white. The line color for an individual symbol can be set with a CSS color name or with a color hex value. The color name or value must be surrounded by underscores. Setting the fill color is optional. To set the fill color, put a comma and the fill color after the line color but before the closing underscore. Styling String Description --D01_red_First symbol line color of red. --D01_red,yellow_First symbol line color of red with a fill color of yellow. --D01_red_D02_green_First symbol line color of red and second symbol line color of green.

By default, each symbol is set to zoom level 1. The zoom level of individual symbols can be set with an integer or a decimal number. Additionally, an offset coordinate can be specified with an individual symbol's zoom level. The offset coordinate of 500x500 is considered no offset for either the x or y value. Styling String Description --Z03,2Third symbol zoom level of 2 --Z04,15.7Fourth symbol zoom level of 15.7 --Z04,1.5,480x500Fourth symbol zoom level of 1.5 with a -20 offset applied to the X value of the symbol's placement coordinate.

When using SVG, there are two additional styling options of class names and ID. SVG Class Names SVG ID Both class names and ID use a restricted ASCII subset. -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100}( -?[_a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100})* [a-zA-Z][_a-zA-Z0-9-]{0,100} Each SVG can be created with a list of class names separated by spaces, ending in an exclamation (!) mark. After the class names exclamation mark, an ID can be written followed by another exclamation mark. Styling String Description ---glowing!A class name of "glowing" ---flashing primary!Two class names of "flashing" and "primary". ---!cursor!SVG created with an ID of "cursor" ---flashing!cursor!SVG created with a class name of "flashing" and an ID of "cursor"

The query language is a lite ASCII markup similar to Formal SignWriting. Any Formal SignWriting string can easily be converted into several different query string, depending on the search parameters. The query string is a concise representation for a much larger and detailed set of regular expressions. The regular expressions can be used to quickly and accurately search large files and databases containing Formal SignWriting. A filter and repeat pattern of searching is used as a series of match criteria. A file, database, or text input is searched using a sequence of steps. Each step applies a single match criteria. Matching results are collated and the next search criteria is applied. The pattern of searching the previous results continues until all regular expressions have been used. There are two main sections of a query string. The first searches the spatial signbox. The second searches the temporal sequence. Both sections use the same definition for a symbol or a range. The symbol search can match an exact symbol, or a set of related symbols. For the fill and rotation modifiers, the "u" character is a wildcard. The "u" stands for unknown and will match all values rather than a specific character. The range search can match a range of base symbols. The base symbol range consists of 2 values: the starting base symbol and the ending base symbol. Every symbol between these 2 base symbols will be matched. S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu] R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2} At the end of the query string is an optional styling string flag represented by a dash (-). If present, the Formal SignWriting strings will include any styling strings. If the styling string flag isn't included, the query string will only find plain text Formal SignWriting strings without the styling string. The full query string definition allows for the possibility of searching the temporal sequence and the spatial signbox at the same time. Q((A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu]|R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2})+)?T)?(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?|R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2}([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?)*(V[0-9]+)?-?

The spatial signbox is a list of symbols with 2-dimensional placement. The query "Q" will find all signs regardless of the symbols used or their placement. It is possible to specify one or more symbols (or ranges of symbols) that must be included in the signbox to indicate a match. The order of the symbols is not important. Each symbol (or range) can include an optional coordinate. The coordinate is a restriction on the match, such that a symbol must be used within a certain variance of the coordinate to qualify as a match. The variance is a number value, 0 or greater with a default value of 20. A variance of 0 will only find symbols used at an exact coordinate. A variance of 5 will match the symbols used at a coordinate, plus or minus 5 for both X and Y numbers. S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})? R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2}([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})? (V[0-9]+)? Q(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?|R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2}([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})?)*(V[0-9]+)? Spatial Signbox Query Examples Query Description QAll signs QS100uuSigns with the index handshape in the spatial order QS100uu480x480Signs with the index handshape in the spatial order used near coordinate (480,480) QS100uu480x480V0Signs with the index handshape in the spatial order used at the exact coordinate (480,480) QS100uuR2fft36cSigns with the index handshape and a symbol from the head & face range

The temporal sequence is a list of symbol keys. The query "QT" will find all signs that include a temporal sequence. It is possible to specify the start of the temporal sequence by identifying a series of symbols and/or ranges. The query will start with an "QA" and end with a "T", such as "QA...T". Between the "QA" and "T", a series of symbol searches and/or range searches will specify the desired start of the temporal sequence. The order of the symbols and ranges is important. Q((A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5u][0-9a-fu]|R[123][0-9a-f]{2}t[123][0-9a-f]{2})+)?T)? Temporal Sequence Query Examples Query Description QTAll signs that include the temporal sequence QAS100uuTSigns with a temporal sequence that starts with the index handshape QAS100uuR100t204S20500TSigns with a temporal sequence that starts with the index handshape, followed by any handshape, followed by the single contact

At the end of the query string is an optional styling string flag represented by a dash (-). If present, the Formal SignWriting strings will include any styling strings. If the styling string flag isn't included, the query string will only find plain text Formal SignWriting strings without the styling string. Q- - Styling String Query Examples Query Description Q-All signs including the styling strings when present -Only find styling string without including the Formal SignWriting

Formal SignWriting and the surrounding technologies have been created to facilitate easy transformations between the various forms.

Formal SignWriting strings have several natural transformations to query string. The transformation can use the temporal sequence and/or the spatial signbox. For each symbol, the query can include the exact symbol key, or the query can use a general symbol key where the fill and rotation modifiers are not explicitly defined. Consider the Formal SignWriting string "AS14c20S27106M518x529S14c20481x471S27106503x489". QAS14c20S27106T QAS14cuuS271uuT QS14c20S27106 QS14cuuS271uu QS14c20481x471S27106503x489 QS14cuu481x471S271uu503x489

The transformation from query string to regular expressions has been fully implemented in the Sutton SignWriting JavaScript Library and the SignWriting Server. The query language to regular expressions generator uses the following regular expression structures as building blocks. (A(S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f])+) [BLMR]([0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3}) (S[123][0-9a-f]{2}[0-5][0-9a-f][0-9]{3}x[0-9]{3})* The Temporal Sequence Prefix is a structural marker followed by one or more symbols. For the query string "QT", the prefix is required. For the general "Q", the prefix is optional so "?" is appended to the Temporal Sequence Prefix regular expression. The SignBox Prefix is a combination of structural marker and preprocessed maximum coordinate. Every constructed regular expression will include the SignBox Prefix. The Spatial Symbols is zero or more symbol definitions and associated coordinates. The Spatial Symbols regular expression is used for every search. For both "Q" and "QT", it is the only symbol matching used. When searching for specific symbols and ranges, the general Spatial Symbols definition will sandwich the specific search definitions. Searching for number ranges with regular expressions requires a unique technique. This technique requires five steps. Find a number between 122 and 455 Match 12[2-9] Match 1[3-9][0-9] Match [2-3][0-9][0-9] Match 4[0-4][0-9] Match 45[0-5] Final Match (12[1-9]|1[3-9][0-9]|[2-3][0-9][0-9]|4[0-4][0-9]|45[0-5]) For the styling string regular expression, see .

Formal SignWriting has been specifically designed to integrate with standard browser technology. Four main components make this integration possible: 1) Font Technology, 2) Scalar Vector Graphics, 3) HTML and CSS, and 4) a JavaScript Library.

The Sutton SignWriting Fonts are available as source SVG and as two TrueType Font files.

The Sutton SignWriting TrueType fonts are available for download and installation. The fonts have been tailored for the Sutton SignWriting JavaScript library. Please ignore warning and unusual font previews during installation as these will not affect the fonts utility. Installing the fonts using the instructions below is not required, but it will improve the user experience. If the fonts are not installed on the system, CSS declarations will install the fonts in the browser cache.

Installation is straight forward for Windows, Linux and Mac. Simply download the 2 TrueType fonts and install as usual. Sutton SignWriting TrueType Font Sutton SignWriting Fill TrueType Font

Installation is possible on iOS with a configuration profile that includes the 2 TrueType fonts. Simply download the configuration profile and install. Sutton SignWriting Configuration Profile

Android can not install the fonts directly onto the system. The CSS declarations below will install the fonts in the browser cache.

The TrueType Fonts can be used without installing the fonts on any platform by defining two font-face statements. Simply include the following CSS in any HTML page to access the fonts. Make sure to replace the URLs with the fully qualified links for both fonts.

@font-face { font-family: "SuttonSignWriting"; src: local('SuttonSignWriting'), url('https://.../SuttonSignWriting.ttf') format('truetype'); } @font-face { font-family: "SuttonSignWritingFill"; src: local('SuttonSignWritingFill'), url('https://.../SuttonSignWritingFill.ttf') format('truetype'); } If the fonts are installed, then the system fonts will be used. If the fonts are not installed when a SignWriting Font page is opened, the CSS will cause the fonts to be automatically downloaded to the browser's cache on the first visit. Once the fonts are installed in the browser cache, they will remain there until the browser cache is emptied. Any webside that uses this CSS can access the browser installed font without requesting a new copy. The fonts are 10 MB, so the first install make take a few seconds or longer depending on your download speed and processor.

Sutton SignWriting is a 2-dimensional script. The sign images are composed using Scalar Vector Graphic (SVG).

The conversion of Formal SignWriting to Scalar Vector Graphics requires three parts: header, text, and symbols. Consider the FSW string "M518x533S1870a489x515S18701482x490S20500508x496S2e734500x468".

The header section contains the SVG definition along with the width, height, and viewbox. The viewbox is a combination of the minimum X, minimum Y, width, and height. 482 518 36 468 533 65

The SVG text section is included to make it possible to copy and paste Formal SignWriting strings. The font-size is set to zero to make the text invisible.

Each symbol in the signbox is a combination of the symbol key and the positioning coordinate. S1870a 489x515 S18701 482x490 S20500 508x496 S2e734 500x468 Each spatial symbol is written as an SVG group and positioned by the transformation translate.

<g transform="translate(489,515)">...</g> <g transform="translate(482,490)">...</g> <g transform="translate(508,496)">...</g> <g transform="translate(500,468)">...</g> Inside of each group, 2 text elements are written. The symbol fill is written first using the SuttonSignWritingFill font with a plane 16 character. The symbol line is written second using the SuttonSignWriting font with a plane 4 character. See for the formula to convert symbol keys to codepoints.

<text class="sym-fill" style="font-family:'SuttonSignWritingFill';font-size:30px;fill:white;"> {plane 16 codepoint} </text> <text class="sym-line" style="font-family:'SuttonSignWriting';font-size:30px;fill:black;"> {plane 4 codepoint} </text>

It is possible to request completed SVG images from the SignWriting Server. The SVG images created by the SignWriting Server are stand-alone graphics that do not use the TrueType Fonts. The SVG images use path elements to define the symbol lines and curves. The SVG header and SVG text for the server-side images are the same as the standard FSW to SVG transformation. See The SVG symbols section is structured differently. Multiple SVG elements are contained within each sign SVG image. Each sub-SVG element uses X and Y coordinates to place each symbol. Consider the FSW string "M518x533S1870a489x515S18701482x490S20500508x496S2e734500x468". S1870a 489x515 S18701 482x490 S20500 508x496 S2e734 500x468

Basic HTML structures and CSS rules can be used with Sutton SignWriting for customization and layout.

It is possible to center a symbol or sign within a div with a few CSS rules. The symbol or sign will automatically shrink in size if the containing div is smaller than the SVG image. Additionally, if the SVG is created with the zoom level of extendable (styling string "-Zx"), the symbol or sign will grow in size to fill as much of the containing div as possible.

div.centered { position: relative; width: 10%; height: 10%; border: 1px solid black; } div.centered svg { position: absolute; display: block; top:2.5%; bottom: 2.5%; left: 2.5%; right: 2.5%; margin: auto; max-width: 95%; max-height: 95%; }

Individual signs can be colored with CSS rules. The individual classes of 'sym-line' and 'sym-fill' can be used to isolate each part of a symbol, both positive and negative spaces, or the classes can be ignored to create the shadow of a symbol that includes both aspects of a symbol.

svg.primary g text.sym-line { fill: #337ab7 !important; } svg.success g text.sym-line { fill: #5cb85c !important; } svg.info g text.sym-line { fill: #5bc0de !important; } svg.warning g text.sym-line { fill: #f0ad4e !important; } svg.danger g text.sym-line { fill: #d9534f !important; } svg.shadow g text { fill: grey !important; } svg.inverse g text.sym-line { fill: white !important; } svg.inverse g text.sym-fill { fill: black !important; }

Other CSS rules can be used for other effect. Please note that transform property does not effect the document flow and should not be used for general layout.

svg.shadowed { text-shadow: -1px -1px 1px #fff, 1px 1px 1px #000; } svg.rotate { transform: rotate(0.5turn); } svg.bigger { transform: scale(2); } svg.skewed { transform: skewX(30deg); }

SignWriting is written vertically using the vertical writing mode of CSS. To create the center lane and to visually divide the columns of text, several span elements are used. Each sign is contained in a div with a width and height that matches the enclosed sign. To properly align each sign with the center of its lane, the containing div will either use "margin-right" or "border-left". With "border-left", the rule must include "solid transparent" after the size.

div.signtext { -webkit-writing-mode: vertical-lr; writing-mode: vertical-lr; font-size: 0%; border-left: 1px solid blue; height: 100%; } span.outside { border-left: 1px solid blue; vertical-align: top; } span.middle { vertical-align: bottom; } span.inside { border-left: 1px dashed red; } div.signtext div { writing-mode: horizontal-tb; display: inline-block; vertical-align: middle; padding: 20px; box-sizing: content-box; }

The Sutton SignWriting JavaScript Library leverages the Sutton SignWriting Fonts, without additional dependancies. The Sutton SignWriting JavaScript Library is part of the Sutton SignWriting Project

In 2015, the symbols of Sutton SignWriting were added to Unicode version 8. Unfortunately, the official encoding has several issues that make the characters unusable. These issues have been reported to the Unicode Technical Committee, but the issues are still unresolved.

Formal SignWriting is based on ASCII, so it can be supported anywhere ASCII is supported. ASCII is a subset of UTF-8, with a one-to-one character correspondence. Anywhere UTF-8 is supported, the size of the Formal SignWriting strings is equal to the ASCII encoding of 8 bits per character. With UTF-32, the size of the string is 4 times that of the ASCII encoding, requiring 32 bits for each character.

Alternately, rather than the ASCII encoding of Formal SignWriting, the Center for Sutton Movement Writing has the following proposal for Unicode characters that fully support Sutton SignWriting.

In order to support Sutton SignWriting, you must support all of the Sutton SignWriting Characters. This set has been designed as a 16-bit coded character set. These characters are best supported using an entire Unicode plane. A simple formula transforms a symbol key into a codepoint. Given a symbol key as variable "key", in JavaScript the function is defined as: var code = ((parseInt(key.slice(1,4),16) - 256) * 96) + ((parseInt(key.slice(4,5),16))*16) + parseInt(key.slice(5,6),16) + 1;

In addition to the Sutton SignWriting characters, the structural markers and number characters need to be supported. These other codepoints make it possible to create Unicode strings that are isomorphic to the Formal SignWriting strings. Description Formal SignWriting x-Character-SignWriting Sequence Marker A U+1D800 SignBox Markers B, L, M, R U+1D801 to U+1D804 Numbers 250 to 749 U+1D80C to U+1D9FF

None.