ASCII or Unicode? (was best text editor for programming Python on a Mac)

[Rustom Mody]

On Tuesday, June 21, 2016 at 7:27:00 PM UTC+5:30, Rustom Mody wrote:
> >    <URL: https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Keyboard_configuration_i
> >    n_Xorg> -- no good

You probably want this:
https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/X_KeyBoard_extension#Editing_the_layout

> > So Rustom, how do *you* produce, say, Hebrew or Spanish text, or your
> > favorite math symbols?
> 
> I wish I could say I have a good answer -- ATM dont
> However some ½-assed ones:
> 
> 
> Emacs:
> set-input-method (C-x RET C-\) greek
> And then typing
> abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
> gives
> αβψδεφγηιξκλμνοπ;ρστθωςχυζ
> [yeah that ; on q is curious]
> 
> Spanish?? No idea
> But there seems to be a spanish input method that
> has these éóñá¿
> 
> Ive typed Hindi/Marathi/Tamil/Sanskrit/Gujarati and helped others with Bengali
> using devanagari-itrans/gujarati-itrans/tamil-itrans/bengali-itrans input
> methods. There are also the corresponding -inscript methods for those that
> type these fluently -- I am not one of those.
> 
> I have some 15-20 lines of elisp that makes these itrans uses easier (for me)
... etc

A couple of people wrote me off list thanking me for emacs-unicode knowhow

  <Heh!>

So remembered that there is one method -- yes clunky -- that I use most -- 
forgot to mention -- C-x 8 RET 
ie insert-char¹

Which takes the name (or hex) of the unicode char.
Nice thing is there is some amount of Tab-*-completion available which makes
it possible to fish around for chars after knowing/remembering part of the name

So with ↹ showing TAB²
Superscr↹
expands to
SUPERSCRIPT
One more ↹ gives
======================
Click on a completion to select it.
In this buffer, type RET to select the completion near point.

Possible completions are:
SUPERSCRIPT CLOSING PARENTHESIS 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT EIGHT
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT FIVE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT FOUR
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT NINE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT ONE
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT SEVEN 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT SIX
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT THREE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT TWO
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT ZERO 	SUPERSCRIPT EIGHT
SUPERSCRIPT EQUALS SIGN 	SUPERSCRIPT FIVE
SUPERSCRIPT FOUR 	SUPERSCRIPT HYPHEN-MINUS
SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER I 	SUPERSCRIPT LATIN SMALL LETTER N
SUPERSCRIPT LEFT PARENTHESIS 	SUPERSCRIPT MINUS
SUPERSCRIPT NINE 	SUPERSCRIPT ONE
SUPERSCRIPT OPENING PARENTHESIS 	SUPERSCRIPT PLUS SIGN
SUPERSCRIPT RIGHT PARENTHESIS 	SUPERSCRIPT SEVEN
SUPERSCRIPT SIX 	SUPERSCRIPT THREE
SUPERSCRIPT TWO 	SUPERSCRIPT ZERO
================================
Adding a d narrows to
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT

One more ↹ narrows to
Possible completions are:
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT EIGHT 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT FIVE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT FOUR
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT NINE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT ONE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT SEVEN
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT SIX 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT THREE 	SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT TWO
SUPERSCRIPT DIGIT ZERO

* can also be used as glob for parts of the name one does not remember
So since there are zillions of chars that are some kind of ARROW
One can write Right*arrow↹
Still too many
Narrow further to Right*Double*Arrow↹ 
And we get

Possible completions are:
RIGHT DOUBLE ARROW 	RIGHT DOUBLE ARROW WITH ROUNDED HEAD
RIGHT DOUBLE ARROW WITH STROKE 	RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE ARROW
RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE ARROW FROM BAR 	RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE ARROW WITH STROKE
RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE ARROW WITH VERTICAL STROKE
RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE ARROW-TAIL 	RIGHTWARDS DOUBLE DASH ARROW 

etc
===================
¹ Steven will be mighty pleased to note that it used to be called ucs-insert
For which now the help page gives:
"This function is obsolete since 24.3; use `insert-char' instead."

² Courtesy Xah Lee: http://xahlee.info/comp/unicode_computing_symbols.html