On 10/20/2011 3:37 PM, Pete Resnick wrote:
>> So, if the limit is still 998, then there is no change with respect the
former
>> limit.
>
> See the next sentence:
>
> (Note that in
> ASCII octets and characters are effectively the same but this is not
> true in UTF-8.)
>
> Remember, in UTF-8, characters can be multiple octets. So 998 UTF-8 encoded
> *characters* are likely to be many more than 998 octets long. So the change is
> to say that the limit is in octets, not in characters.
The switch in vocabulary is clearly subtle for readers. (I missed it too.)
I suggest adding some language that highlights the point, possibly the same
language as you just used to explain it.
The document already contains text for this:
Section 2.1.1 of [RFC 5322 limits lines to 998 characters and recommends that
the lines be restricted to only 78 characters. This specification changes
the former limit to 998 octets. (Note that in ASCII octets and characters
are effectively the same but this is not true in UTF-8.) The 78 character
limit remains defined in terms of characters, not octets, since it is
intended to address display width issues, not line length issues.
Note the parenthetical comment in the middle of the paragraph.
I really don't see any point in further elaboration of this issue in this
context.
Ned
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