Unicode 8 core specification now available

Version 8.0 of the Unicode Standard is now available. The latest core specification contains significant updates and improvements compared with previous versions.

• The description of casing was rewritten to account for the addition of a set of lowercase Cherokee syllables
• The documentation on emoji symbols, including descriptions of the new symbol modifiers for implementing skin tone diversity, was substantially revised
• New Tai Lue was updated to describe the change of model from logical to visual
• Descriptions for five new scripts and Sutton SignWriting
• Improvements to existing script descriptions, including Bengali, Devanagari, Malayalam, and to the description of tag characters

As previously reported, version 8.0 of Unicode has grown by 7,716 characters. The latest version continues the Unicode Consortium’s long-standing commitment to support the full diversity of languages by adding new scripts and other characters that support additional languages of Africa and India, such as Ik, Kulango, and Tai Ahom. The text of the latest version also documents the newly adopted Georgian lari currency symbol.

All other components of Unicode 8.0 were released in June to allow vendors to update their implementations of Unicode 8.0 as early as possible. These components include the Unicode Standard Annexes, code charts, and the Unicode Character Database. The publication of the core specification completes the definitive documentation of the Unicode Standard, Version 8.0. A print-on-demand (POD) version for Unicode 8.0 is planned for later publication.