CODEWITHSUNDEEP
localizationinternationalizationnumeral-system
kkkllleee mexamexo8
kkkllleee mexamexo8

Reputation: 11

What is the most intuitive method to input a base-20 numeral system in regular keyboards?

I am part of an effort of getting the Kaktovik numerals into Unicode (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaktovik_numerals). As you can see the system has 20 digits with a featural composition.

One of the questions I was asked, is what way would be the best way to input these numerals (assuming new assigned code-points) using regular keyboards. I understand that there are tools called Input Method Editors, but I want to know what input method would be the most intuitive to the users. All I can say is, that a system that uses 1 key for each of the 20 digits isn't practical.

Upvotes: 1

Views: 65

Answers (1)

Randy Helzerman
Randy Helzerman

Reputation: 11

There are several ways:

  1. Hexadecimal already has 16 digits; it's not that much more to just add G H I J for 20 digits.

  2. You could take advantage of the subbase structure of the digits, and represent each Kaktovik digit with two arabic digits, e.g. counting up from 1: 01 02 03 04 05 11 12 13 14 15

The kicker is that you probably want to separate the digit pairs by some delimiter, e.g. 12,34,02.00,01

Which one is more intuitive, I guess you'd have to ask the people who actually use the numbers!

Upvotes: 1

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