PD 6581:1993

This standard PD 6581:1993 Extracts from ISO/IEC 10646-1:1993. Information technology. Universal multiple-octet coded character set (UCS). Part 1. Architecture and basic multilingual plane is classified in these ICS categories:

• 35.040.10 Coding of character sets
• 01.140.10 Writing and transliteration

ISO/IEC 10646 specifies the Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set (UCS). It is applicable to the representation, transmission, interchange, processing, storage, input and presentation of the written form of the languages of the world as well as additional symbols.

This part of ISO/IEC 10646 specifies the overall architecture, and

• defines terms used in ISO/IEC 10646;
• describes the general structure of the coded character set;
• specifies the Basic Multilingual Plane (BMP) of the UCS, and defines a set of graphic characters used in scripts and the written form of languages on a world-wide scale;
• specifies the names for the graphic characters of the BMP, and the coded representations;
• specifies the four-octet (32-bit) canonical form of the UCS: UCS-4;
• specifies a two-octet (16-bit) BMP form of the UCS: UCS-2;
• specifies the coded representations for control functions;
• specifies the management of future additions to this coded character set.

The UCS is a coding system different from that specified in ISO 2022. The method to designate UCS from ISO 2022 is specified in 17.2.