The Chinese University of Hong Kong is implementing the Hanzix research project’s proposed common Chinese language computing standard for Greater China on Solaris, according to ComputerWorld Hong Kong. When complete, in September of this year, the operating system will be able to convert code sets automatically between traditional and simplified Chinese language applications. The idea of the Hanzix project is to establish a common system on which software can run in the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan and Hong Kong, without change. At the moment, Taiwan and Hong Kong currently use ‘big five’ code sets for traditional character applications while China uses General Business code sets for simplified characters: the two are incompatible. Hanzix will include a common interface for different data input and software authoring methods. Companies doing business across Greater China need either proprietary traditional to simplified translation software to maintain different sets of Chinese language files. The University, working with SunSoft Inc, the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Peking and the Institute of Information Industry in Taiwan, wants to establish the technology as a standard and hopes that it will be easy to implement it on IBM Corp, Digital Equipment Corp and other systems too.
