Input method editor
Encyclopedia
Operating system
An operating system is a set of programs that manage computer hardware resources and provide common services for application software. The operating system is the most important type of system software in a computer system...
component or program that allows any data, such as keyboard strokes or mouse movements, to be received as input. In this way users can enter characters and symbols not found on their input device
Input device
In computing, an input device is any peripheral used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system such as a computer or other information appliance...
s. For instance, on the computer, this allows the user of Latin
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
keyboards
Keyboard layout
A keyboard layout is any specific mechanical, visual, or functional arrangement of the keys, legends, or key–meaning associations of a computer, typewriter, or other typographic keyboard....
to input Chinese
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
, Japanese
Japanese writing system
The modern Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:*Kanji, adopted Chinese characters*Kana, a pair of syllabaries , consisting of:...
, Korean
Hangul
Hangul,Pronounced or ; Korean: 한글 Hangeul/Han'gŭl or 조선글 Chosŏn'gŭl/Joseongeul the Korean alphabet, is the native alphabet of the Korean language. It is a separate script from Hanja, the logographic Chinese characters which are also sometimes used to write Korean...
and Indic characters; on many hand-held devices, such as mobile phones, it enables using the numeric keypad
Telephone keypad
A telephone keypad is a keypad that appears on a "Touch Tone" telephone. It was standardised when the dual-tone multi-frequency system in the new push-button telephone was introduced in the 1960s, which gradually replaced the rotary dial....
to enter Latin alphabet characters
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
(or any other alphabet characters) or a screen display to be touched to do so.
Implementations
Although originally coined for CJKCJK
CJK is a collective term for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, which is used in the field of software and communications internationalization.The term CJKV means CJK plus Vietnamese, which constitute the main East Asian languages.- Characteristics :...
(Chinese, Japanese and Korean) computing, the term is now sometimes used generically to refer to a program to support the input of any language. To illustrate, in the X Window System
X Window System
The X window system is a computer software system and network protocol that provides a basis for graphical user interfaces and rich input device capability for networked computers...
, the facility to allow the input of Latin characters with diacritic
Diacritic
A diacritic is a glyph added to a letter, or basic glyph. The term derives from the Greek διακριτικός . Diacritic is both an adjective and a noun, whereas diacritical is only an adjective. Some diacritical marks, such as the acute and grave are often called accents...
s is also called an input method.
Relationship between the methodology and implementation
While the term input method editor was originally used by Microsoft Windows, its use has now gained acceptance in other operating systems, especially when it is important to distinguish between the computer interfaceInterface (computer science)
In the field of computer science, an interface is a tool and concept that refers to a point of interaction between components, and is applicable at the level of both hardware and software...
and implementation of input methods, or among the input methods themselves, the editing functionality of the program or operating system component providing the input method, and the general support of input methods in an operating system. This term has, for example, gained general acceptance on the GNU/Linux operating system; it is also used on the Mac OS.
- The term input method generally refers to a particular way to use the keyboard to input a particular language, for example the Cangjie methodCangjie methodThe Cangjie input method is a system by which Chinese characters may be entered into a computer by means of a standard keyboard...
, the pinyin methodPinyin methodThe pinyin method refers to a family of input methods based on the pinyin method of romanization.In the most basic form, the pinyin method allows a user to input Chinese characters by entering the pinyin of a Chinese character and then presenting the user with a list of possible characters with...
, or the use of dead keyDead keyA dead key is a special kind of a modifier key on a typewriter or computer keyboard that is typically used to attach a specific diacritic to a base letter. The dead key does not generate a character by itself but modifies the character generated by the key struck immediately after...
s. - On the other hand, the term input method editor on Microsoft products refers to the actual program that allows an input method to be used (for example MS New Pinyin). PRIME, or SCIMSCIMThe Smart Common Input Method platform is an input method platform containing support for more than thirty languages for POSIX-style operating systems including Linux and BSD....
prefer the term of Input Method Engine, Input Method platform or Input Method environment, or the actual editing area that allows the user to do the input. It can also refer to a character palette, which allows any Unicode character to be input individually. One might also interpret IME to refer to the editor used for creating or modifying the data files upon which an input method relies.
Input methods versus language
- Chinese input methods for computersChinese input methods for computersHundreds of Chinese input methods are available for entry of Chinese characters into computers, but most keyboard-based methods rely on either pinyin phonetic readings or root shapes in Chinese characters...
- Japanese language and computersJapanese language and computersIn relation to the Japanese language and computers many adaptation issues arise, some unique to Japanese and others common to languages which have a very large number of characters. The number of characters needed in order to write English is very small, and thus it is possible to use only one byte...
and Japanese input methodsJapanese input methodsJapanese input methods are the methods used to input Japanese characters on a computer.There are two main methods of inputting Japanese on computers. One is via a romanized version of Japanese called rōmaji , and the other is via keyboard keys corresponding to the Japanese kana... - Korean language and computersKorean language and computersThis article addresses how computers are used to read and write Korean, using Hangul.-Character encodings:In RFC 1557, a method known as ISO-2022-KR for a 7-bit encoding of Korean characters in email was described. Where 8 bits are allowed, the EUC-KR encoding is preferred. These two...
- Indic scripts input methods for languages used in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and parts of Central Asia and East Asia.
Specific input methods
- List of input methods for UNIX platforms
- ATOKATOKATOK is a Japanese input method editor produced by JustSystems, a Japanese software company.ATOK is an IME with roots from 1983 and DOS, but it now supports a large number of platforms including Linux, Mac OS X, Windows, Android, and iOS....
- TiseTiseTise is a Tibetan input method utility for Windows XP and Windows Vista created by Gregory Mokhin. The name of the program refers to the native name of Mount Kailash in Tibet....
—Tibetan IM for Windows - Singlish TypewriterSinglish TypewriterSinglish Sinhala Typewriter is a method to typewrite Sinhala text on a computer using an English keyboard in English letters. In other words, it is like typewriting Sinhala in English letters but the final result comes in Sinhala letters.E.g.mama = මම...
—Sinhala IM - WnnWnnWnn is a Japanese input system. The network-extensible Kana-to-Kanji conversion system was jointly developed and released by the Software Research Group of Kyoto University Research Institute for Mathematical Sciences, Omron Tateisi Electronics Co., and Astec, Inc.It is distributed as freeware...
Input methods for handheld devices
- Multi-tapMulti-tapMulti-tap refers to a text entry system for mobile phones.The alphabet is printed under each key in a three-letter sequence as follows; ABC under 2 key, DEF under 3 key, etc. Exceptions are the "7" key, which adds a letter , and the "9" key which includes "Z"...
—Used on many mobile telephones—hit the (combined alphanumeric) key for the letter you want until it comes up, then wait or proceed with a different key. - T9T9 (predictive text)T9, which stands for Text on 9 keys, is a patented predictive text technology for mobile phones, originally developed by Tegic Communications, now part of Nuance Communications....
/XT9—Type the key for every letter once, then, if needed, type Next until the right word comes up. May also correct misspellings and regional typos (if an adjacent key is pressed incorrectly). - iTapITapiTap is a predictive text technology for mobile phones, developed by Motorola as a competitor to T9. It was designed as a replacement for the old letter mappings on phones to help with word entry. This makes some of the modern mobile phones features like text messaging and note-taking easier.When...
—Similar to first-generation T9, with word autocompleteAutocompleteAutocomplete is a feature provided by many web browsers, e-mail programs, search engine interfaces, source code editors, database query tools, word processors, and command line interpreters. Autocomplete involves the program predicting a word or phrase that the user wants to type in without the...
. - LetterWiseLetterWiseLetterWise is a patented predictive text entry system keypads on handheld devices developed by Eatoni Ergonomics.- Design :Unlike other predictive text entry systems, LetterWise does not depend on a dictionary, allowing the user to type anything, yet with very high efficiency...
—"Hit the key with the letter you want, if it doesn't come up, hit Next until it does." - Various FEP Software for Symbian S60 3rd Edition devices.
External links
- Microsoft Global Input Method Editors (IMEs)
- BhashaIndia, the Microsoft portal for Indic languages, which has Indic IME for download.
- Google Transliteration IMEs
- InputKing Online Input System, with this online IME, you can type your language anywhere.