207919 - supporing entity names for Math characters in non-BMP (in non-MathML documents)

Status: NEW

(Core :: XML, defect)

Description

[Jungshik Shin]

a spin-off from bug 162431.

This is not a bug per se because standards (XHTML, XML) relevant to this issue
don't seem to have been updated (as far as I can tell.) to reflect(?) changes in
Unicode 3.2 and 4.0. Therefore, I'm filing this as a reminder that we need to
keep track of standard activities in this regard. 

A number of Math characters (e.g. Script A) were added to Unicode in Unicode 3.2 (
http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1D400.pdf). However, entity names for them
are not listed in XHTML and XML standards. They're in MathML 2.0, though.
(http://www.w3.org/TR/2001/REC-MathML2-20010221/byalpha.html).

It might have been intended that entity names for Math characters in be
interpreted only in MathML but not in xhtml and other xml applications. However,
that's not very likely because it is not very consinstent to include 'Pscr'
(that is in BMP) but not 'Ascr' (in non-BMP) in the XHTML entity list. XHTML 2.0
hasn't been yet released and the latest draft doesn't yet define character
entities for XHTML 2.0 (
http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml2/dtd_module_defs.html#a_dtd_module_defs_issue_5).
When they do, it's very likely that XHTML 2.0 will use the identical entity
names defined for MathML 2.0 for non-BMP characters. 

We might go ahead and support them now in non-MathML documents, but I'm not sure
if that's desirable. 

I'm filing this under XML, but it may not be the rigth component for this bug.
Pls, feel free to change the component if there's a better one.

Comment 1

[BugBot [:suhaib / :marco/ :calixte]]

The bug assignee didn't login in Bugzilla in the last 7 months.
:peterv, could you have a look please?
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