Unicode to Diamond Tamil Fonts

Unicode to Diamond Tamil Font

Unicode Tamil Font

Diamond Tamil Font

Unicode to Diamond Tamil Font Conversion

Tamil is one of the world’s oldest living languages, used by millions of people across Tamil Nadu, Sri Lanka, and the global Tamil diaspora. With the rise of computers, digital publishing, and the internet, the representation of Tamil text has undergone major changes. Today, the global standard for digital Tamil is Unicode. Unicode makes Tamil text universally readable across all platforms, browsers, and devices. However, in many printing and publishing industries, older non-Unicode Tamil fonts such as Diamond Tamil Font are still in active use.

This creates the need for Unicode to Diamond Tamil font conversion we will explore why this conversion is important, how it can be done, the challenges involved, methods available, technical details for developers, and best practices for professionals who work with Tamil text in both modern and legacy formats.

What is Unicode Tamil?

Unicode is an international character encoding standard that assigns a unique number to every character in every language. For Tamil, Unicode defines code points from U+0B80 to U+0BFF.

For example:

  • "அ" → U+0B85
  • "ஆ" → U+0B86
  • "இ" → U+0B87
  • "ஈ" → U+0B88
  • "உ" → U+0B89

Unicode Tamil is searchable, SEO-friendly, compatible with modern applications, and suitable for long-term data storage. It is the preferred choice for web publishing, mobile apps, and international communication.

What is Diamond Tamil Font?

Diamond Tamil Font is a legacy ASCII-based font developed for desktop publishing (DTP) and printing. Like other old Tamil fonts such as Bamini, Shreelipi, and DCI fonts, Diamond maps Tamil characters onto English keyboard letters. This means:

  • The letter a may display as "அ".
  • The letter k may display as "கு".
  • The sequence jp may display as "வா".

Without the Diamond font applied, the text will look like a string of English characters instead of readable Tamil. This makes the font non-standard and non-compatible with Unicode-based systems.

Why Convert Unicode to Diamond Tamil Font?

  • Printing Compatibility: Many traditional printing presses still rely on Diamond Tamil because their templates and software are built for it.
  • DTP Workflows: Designers working in PageMaker, CorelDRAW, or older QuarkXPress systems may require Diamond Tamil text.
  • Archival Consistency: Old Tamil books, magazines, and newsletters already published in Diamond font need new documents in the same font.
  • Font Style: Some publishers prefer the appearance of Diamond Tamil in print layouts.

Challenges in Conversion

Converting from Unicode to Diamond Tamil is not straightforward because:

  • Encoding Difference: Unicode uses logical character ordering, while Diamond Tamil uses arbitrary ASCII mapping.
  • Ligature Handling: Compound letters like க்ஷ, ஞ்ச, ற்ற require multi-character mapping.
  • Loss of Meaning: If Diamond font is not applied, text appears as random English alphabets.
  • Software Dependency: Some Unicode characters have no direct equivalent in Diamond Tamil.

Methods of Conversion

1. Online Converters

Websites allow users to paste Unicode Tamil text and convert it instantly into Diamond Tamil encoding. The output looks like English letters, but when Diamond font is applied, it displays correctly in Tamil.

2. Desktop Tools

Specialized software for Tamil DTP provides batch conversion of Unicode documents into Diamond format, useful for magazines and newspapers.

3. Script-Based Conversion

Developers can write Python or JavaScript scripts using a mapping dictionary to automate Unicode → Diamond conversion. This method is suitable for bulk data processing.

4. Word Processor Macros

MS Word or LibreOffice macros can replace Unicode Tamil characters with Diamond Tamil key equivalents for small-scale conversions.

Step-by-Step Conversion Process

  1. Backup: Always keep the Unicode source text safe before conversion.
  2. Choose Tool: Select an online tool, script, or desktop app depending on your project scale.
  3. Test Conversion: Convert a paragraph and apply Diamond font to verify accuracy.
  4. Bulk Conversion: Process the entire document once testing is successful.
  5. Font Application: Open the converted file and select Diamond Tamil Font in your text editor or DTP software.
  6. Proofreading: Manually check for spelling, ligatures, and punctuation accuracy.

Example of Conversion

  
  வணக்கம் தமிழே

  
  tzf;fk; jkpBH

Here, the Unicode Tamil phrase "வணக்கம் தமிழே" becomes ,izg;gh; jkpH;. When Diamond Tamil font is applied, it displays correctly in Tamil.

Best Practices

  • Keep a master copy in Unicode for long-term use.
  • Proofread every converted document carefully, especially compound letters.
  • Use trusted converters that are frequently updated with correct mappings.
  • For newspapers and books, always print a test page before mass printing.
  • Automate large projects with scripts but ensure manual verification for quality.

Technical Insights for Developers

Developers need a mapping table that links Unicode Tamil characters with Diamond Tamil key equivalents. For example:

  • அ (U+0B85) → "m"
  • ஆ (U+0B86) → "M"
  • க் (U+0B95 + U+0BCD) → "f;"
  • வா (U+0BB5 + U+0BBE) → "tp"

Regular expressions (Regex) can help handle complex ligatures. For example, matching "க்" followed by "ஷ" to produce "க்ஷ".

Quality Assurance Checklist

  1. Verify characters after applying Diamond font.
  2. Check ligatures like க்ஷ, ஞ்ச, ற்ற carefully.
  3. Confirm numbers and punctuation marks display correctly.
  4. Test the document in multiple DTP applications before final publishing.
  5. Take a printout for final validation.

Future of Tamil Font Systems

Unicode is the future for Tamil computing, but Diamond Tamil and other legacy fonts will remain in use in traditional publishing. The ideal strategy is to maintain Unicode as the source standard and convert to Diamond Tamil only when necessary. This ensures long-term preservation of Tamil text while supporting the specific requirements of DTP and printing workflows.

Conclusion

Unicode to Diamond Tamil font conversion is an essential process for bridging modern and legacy systems in Tamil publishing. Unicode ensures compatibility, global reach, and future-proofing, while Diamond Tamil remains valuable in printing and design. By following proper conversion methods, using reliable tools, and ensuring careful proofreading, one can achieve accurate and professional results. Always remember: Unicode should be the master file, and Diamond Tamil should be used only for legacy output needs.