U+237C ⍼ Right Angle with Downwards Zigzag Arrow (ionathan.ch)

Article summary

The article explores the origins and meaning of the Unicode character U+237C, also known as Right Angle with Downwards Zigzag Arrow. Despite extensive research, the author was unable to find a definitive source or meaning for the character. The character was introduced in the Unicode Standard through the STIX project, which took character tables from ISO/IEC TR 9573-13. The article concludes that the meaning of the character will be whatever meaning is assigned by whoever uses it next.

Main themes

• Unicode character origins
• Symbol meaning and usage
• Typography and formatting
• Character encoding and semantics
• Scientific notation and markup
• Language support and priorities

What commenters say

• Unicode should include superscript and subscript variants of all characters, not just Latin letters and numbers.
• Adding superscript and subscript characters is unnecessary and can be handled through formatting and markup.
• The inclusion of obscure symbols in Unicode is prioritized over more practical additions, such as superscript and subscript characters.
• Unicode's goal is to encode characters used by all languages, and superscript and subscript are typesetting properties that should be handled separately.
• The lack of superscript and subscript characters can cause problems in certain contexts, such as scientific notation and chemical symbols.
• Unicode's definition of character semantics is debated, with some arguing that it should not define semantics and others believing that it is necessary for conformance.
• The use of markers to enable arbitrary super and subscripting is proposed as a solution to the problem.
• The addition of new characters to Unicode should be prioritized based on practical needs and usage, rather than theoretical completeness.