Ubuntu Manpage: Text::Bidi - Unicode bidi algorithm using libfribidi

Provided by: libtext-bidi-perl_2.08-2_amd64

NAME

       Text::Bidi - Unicode bidi algorithm using libfribidi

VERSION

       version 2.08

SYNOPSIS

           # Each displayed line is a "paragraph"
           use Text::Bidi qw(log2vis);
           ($par, $map, $visual) = log2vis($logical);
           # or just
           $visual = log2vis(...);

           # For real paragraphs, need to specify the display width
           ($par, $map, $visual) = log2vis($logical, $width);

           # object oriented approach allows to display line by line
           $p = new Text::Bidi::Paragraph $logical;
           $visual = $p->visual($off, $len);

EXPORT

       The following functions can be exported (nothing is exported by default):

       •   "log2vis"

       •   "is_bidi"

       •   "get_mirror_char"

       •   "get_bidi_type_name"

       •   "fribidi_version"

       •   "unicode_version"

       •   "fribidi_version_num"

       All of them can be exported together using the ":all" tag.

DESCRIPTION

This module provides basic support for the Unicode bidirectional (Bidi) text algorithm,
for displaying text consisting of both left-to-right and right-to-left written languages
(such as Hebrew and Arabic.) It does so via a swig interface file to the libfribidi
library.

The fundamental purpose of the bidi algorithm is to reorder text given in logical order
into text in visually correct order, suitable for display using standard printing
commands. ``Logical order'' means that the characters are given in the order in which they
would be read if printed correctly. The direction of the text is determined by properties
of the Unicode characters, usually without additional hints. See
<http://www.unicode.org/unicode/reports/tr9/> for more details on the problem and the
algorithm.

Standard usage
The bidi algorithm works in two stages. The first is on the level of a paragraph, where
the direction of each character is computed. The second is on the level of the lines to be
displayed. The main practical difference is that the first stage requires only the text of
the paragraph, while the second requires knowledge of the width of the displayed lines.
The module (or the library) does not determine how the text is broken into paragraphs.

The full interface is provided by Text::Bidi::Paragraph, see there for details. This
module provides an abbreviation, "log2vis", which combines creating a paragraph object
with calling "visual" in Text::Bidi::Paragraph on it. It is particularly useful in the
case that the whole paragraph should be displayed at once, and the display width is known:

$visual = log2vis($logical, $width);

There are more options (see "log2vis"), but this is essentially it. The rest of this
documentation will probably be useful only to people who are familiar with libfribidi and
who wish to extend or modify the module.

The object-oriented approach
All functions here can be called using either a procedural or an object oriented approach.
For example, you may do either

$visual = log2vis($logical);

$bidi = new Text::Bidi;
$visual = $bidi->log2vis($logical);

The advantages of the second form is that it is easier to move to a sub-class, and that
two or more objects with different parameters can be used simultaneously. If you are
interested in deriving from this class, please see "SUBCLASSING".

FUNCTIONS

   get_bidi_type_name
           say $tb->get_bidi_type_name($Text::Bidi::Type::LTR); # says 'LTR'

       Return the string representation of a Bidi character type, as in
       fribidi_get_bidi_type_name(3). Note that for the above example, one needs to use
       Text::Bidi::Constants.

   log2vis
           ($p, $visual) = log2vis($logical[,$width[,$dir[,$flags]]]);

       Convert the input paragraph $logical to visual. This constructs a Text::Bidi::Paragraph
       object, and calls "visual" in Text::Bidi::Paragraph several times, as required. $width is
       the maximum width of a line, defaulting to the whole length of the paragraph.  $dir is the
       base direction of the paragraph, determined automatically if not provided.  $flags is as
       in "visual" in Text::Bidi::Paragraph. The paragraph will be justified to the right if it
       is RTL.

       The output consists of the Text::Bidi::Paragraph object $p and the visual string $visual.

   is_bidi()
           my $bidi = is_bidi($logical);

       Returns true if the input $logical contains bidi characters. Otherwise, the output of the
       bidi algorithm will be identical to the input, hence this helps if we want to short-
       circuit.

   get_mirror_char()
           my $mir = get_mirror_char('['); # $mir == ']'

       Return the mirror character of the input, possibly itself.

   fribidi_version
           say fribidi_version();

       Returns the version information for the fribidi library

   fribidi_version_num
           say fribidi_version_num();

       Returns the version number for the fribidi library

   unicode_version
           say unicode_version();

       Returns the Unicode version used by the fribidi library

SUBCLASSING

       The rest of the documentation is only interesting if you would like to derive from this
       class. The methods listed under "METHODS" are wrappers around the similarly named
       functions in libfribidi, and may be useful for this purpose.

       If you do sub-class this class, and would like the procedural interface to use your
       functions, put a line like

               $Text::Bidi::GlobalClass = __PACKAGE__;

       in your module.

METHODS

   new
           $tb = new Text::Bidi [tie_byte => ..., tie_long => ...];

       Create a new Text::Bidi object. If the tie_byte or tie_long options are given, they should
       be the names (strings) of the classes used as dual life arrays, most probably derived
       class of Text::Bidi::Array::Byte and Text::Bidi::Array::Long, respectively.

       This method is probably of little interest for standard (procedural) use.

   utf8_to_internal
           $la = $tb->utf8_to_internal($str);

       Convert the Perl string $str into the representation used by libfribidi.  The result will
       be a Text::Bidi::Array::Long.

   internal_to_utf8
           $str = $tb->internal_to_utf8($la);

       Convert the long array $la, representing a string encoded in to format used by libfribidi,
       into a Perl string. The array $la can be either a Text::Bidi::Array::Long, or anything
       that can be used to construct it.

   get_bidi_types
           $types = $tb->get_bidi_types($internal);

       Returns a Text::Bidi::Array::Long with the list of Bidi types of the text given by
       $internal, a representation of the paragraph text, as returned by utf8_to_internal().
       Wraps fribidi_get_bidi_types(3).

   get_joining_types
           $types = $tb->get_joining_types($internal);

       Returns a Text::Bidi::Array::Byte with the list of joining types of the text given by
       $internal, a representation of the paragraph text, as returned by "utf8_to_internal".
       Wraps fribidi_get_joining_types(3).

   get_joining_type_name
           say $tb->get_joining_type_name($Text::Bidi::Joining::U); # says 'U'

       Return the string representation of a joining character type, as in
       fribidi_get_joining_type_name(3). Note that for the above example, one needs to use
       Text::Bidi::Constants.

   get_par_embedding_levels
          ($odir, $lvl) = $tb->get_par_embedding_levels($types[, $dir]);

       Return the embedding levels of the characters, whose types are given by $types. $types is
       a Text::Bidi::Array::Long of Bidi types, as returned by "get_bidi_types". $dir is the base
       paragraph direction. If not given, it defaults to "FRIBIDI_PAR_ON" (neutral).

       The output is the resolved paragraph direction $odir, and the Text::Bidi::Array::Byte
       array $lvl of embedding levels.

   mirrored
           $mirrored = $tb->mirrored($lvl, $internal);

       Returns the internal representation of the paragraph, with mirroring applied.  The
       internal representation of the original paragraph (as returned by "utf8_to_internal")
       should be passed in $internal, while the embedding levels (as returned by
       "get_par_embedding_levels") should be in $lvl.  This method wraps
       fribidi_shape_mirroring(3).

   reorder
           $str = $tb->reorder($in, $map[, $offset[, $len]]);
           say $tb->reorder([qw(A B C)], [2, 0, 1]); # says CAB

       View the array ref $map as a permutation, and permute the list (of characters) $in
       according to it. The result is joined, to obtain a string.  If $offset and $len are given,
       returns only that part of the resulting string.

   reorder_map
           ($elout, $mout) = $tb->reorder_map($types, $offset, $len, $par,
                                              $map, $el, $flags);

       Compute the reordering map for bidi types given by $types, for the interval starting with
       $offset of length $len. Note that this part of the algorithm depends on the interval in an
       essential way. $types is an array of types, as computed by "get_bidi_types". The other
       arguments are optional:

       $par
           The base paragraph direction. Computed via "get_par_embedding_levels" if not defined.

       $map
           An array ref (or a Text::Bidi::Array::Long) from a previous call (with a different
           interval). The method is called repeatedly for the same paragraph, with different
           intervals, and the reordering map is updated for the given interval. If not defined,
           initialised to the identity map.

       $el The embedding levels. If not given, computed by a call to "get_par_embedding_levels".

       $flags
           A specification of flags, as described in fribidi_reorder_line(3). The flags can be
           given either as a number (using "$Text::Bidi::Flags::.." from Text::Bidi::Constants),
           or as a hashref of the form "{REORDER_NSM => 1}". Defaults to "FRIBIDI_FLAGS_DEFAULT".

       The output consists of the modified map $mout (a Text::Bidi::Array::Long), and possibly
       modified embedding levels $elout.

BUGS

       There are no real tests for any of this.

       Shaping is not supported (probably), since I don't know what it is. Help welcome!

AUTHOR

       Moshe Kamensky <kamensky@cpan.org>

COPYRIGHT AND LICENSE

       This software is copyright (c) 2013 by Moshe Kamensky.

       This is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the same terms as
       the Perl 5 programming language system itself.