In the same JAR file as Jskad, power users will find a command-line utility that converts a Tibetan Machine Web-encoded (TMW-encoded) Rich - Text Format (RTF) file to either of these two output formats: + Text Format (RTF) file to either of these three output formats:
In addition, this converter can convert Tibetan Machine RTF files to - Tibetan Machine RTF files, and takes precautions to ensure that only - a 100% perfect conversion is done. + Tibetan Machine Web RTF files, and takes precautions to ensure that + only a 100% perfect conversion is done in both directions + (TM->TMW and TMW>TM). One such precaution is that two + independent teams (Garrett and Garson, Chandler) turned the Tibetan + Machine Web + documentation into TM<->TMW tables. These tables + were compared, giving full confidence that the tables are as + accurate as the documentation (which has a + few flaws itself). That documentation has not been + extensively verified against the actual fonts, however. + Another precaution is that any unknown characters cause the + conversion to fail, and the result is a document containing merely + the unknown characters. (There are some known, illegal glyphs + created by Tibet Doc, and the converter handles the ones it knows of + and treats the rest as unknown.)
This converter is smart enough to solve the "curly-brace - problem". This problem originates with certain versions - of Microsoft Word's Rich Text Format writing capabilities. + problem", wherein Tahoma '{', '}', and '\' characters appear + instead of the TMW stacks they are supposed to represent. This + problem originates with certain versions of Microsoft Word's Rich + Text Format writing capabilities.
@@ -230,7 +246,7 @@ The first section of text is the short "introduction" about the Theme and the va
java -cp Jskad.jar \
- org.thdl.tib.input.TMW_RTF_TO_THDL_WYLIE \
+ org.thdl.tib.input.TibetanConverter \
--find-some-non-tmw \
"Dalai Lama Fifth History 01.rtf"
non-TMW character newline in the font Tahoma appears first at location 39
@@ -245,7 +261,7 @@ non-TMW character newline in the font Times New Roman appears first at location
Given the above output, you can be sure that a flawless conversion
(barring the appearance of known bugs) will
result when you run java -cp Jskad.jar
- org.thdl.tib.input.TMW_RTF_TO_THDL_WYLIE --to-wylie "Dalai Lama
+ org.thdl.tib.input.TibetanConverter --to-wylie "Dalai Lama
Fifth History 01.rtf" > "Dalai Lama Fifth History 01 in THDL
Extended Wylie.rtf". This is because the only text in the
input file besides Tibetan is whitespace and the Tahoma characters
@@ -254,6 +270,15 @@ non-TMW character newline in the font Times New Roman appears first at location
"curly-brace problem".
+Failed Conversions
+
+
+ In this section, you'll learn how to tell if a conversion has
+ succeeded in full, ran into minor problems, or failed altogether.
+
+
+TMW to Wylie
+
Note that some TMW glyphs have no transliteration in Exteded
Wylie. When you encounter such a glyph, you'll find a message
@@ -278,25 +303,38 @@ non-TMW character newline in the font Times New Roman appears first at location
Wylie by the tool, please report this as a bug.
+Other Conversions
+
- Note also that there is one TMW glyph (TibetanMachineWeb7, glyph 91)
- that has no Tibetan Machine equivalent. A 72-point copy of the
- Tibetan alphabet will be inserted (in TMW) before this glyph.
- Some common-but-illegal TibetanMachine input will also cause the
- alphabet to appear before the offending glyph. Please use
- Jskad to convert such documents, as it has better error checking and
- can tell you just what's wrong. If you ever encounter these
- problems, please send us mail with the error report (and the problem
- input document) so that we can improve our tools.
+ The other conversions are all-or-nothing. That is, if you run
+ into any trouble whatsoever, the result will be a file containing
+ just the problematic glyphs. If your result is as long as your
+ input, then the conversion went flawlessly.
+
+
+
+ There is one TMW glyph (TibetanMachineWeb7, glyph 91) that has no
+ Tibetan Machine equivalent. This glyph is the only TMW glyph
+ that can cause a TMW->TM conversion to fail.
+
+
+
+ You might consider using Jskad to convert documents that give
+ errors, as it has better error reporting and can tell you just
+ what's wrong.
+
+
+ If you ever encounter problems in a TM->TMW conversion, please
+ send us mail with the error report (and the problem input document's
+ resulting document) so that we can improve our tools.
Invoking the Converter
First add Jskad.jar to your CLASSPATH. Now run the command
- java org.thdl.tib.input.TMW_RTF_TO_THDL_WYLIE from a
- command prompt. You will see usage information appear.
- Forgive the name; this converter's scope widened after its creation.
+ java org.thdl.tib.input.TibetanConverter from a
+ command prompt. You will see usage information appear.
Known Bugs
@@ -304,7 +342,9 @@ non-TMW character newline in the font Times New Roman appears first at location
If the TMW given is not syntactically legal, then the Wylie that
results will not necessarily yield, if imported into Jskad, the same
- Tibetan with which the converter started.
+ Tibetan with which the converter started. The glyphs
+ corresponding to the Wylie 'jaskadaskeda' have this problem, for
+ example.