Braille Binary

Encode binary data into braille characters.

This module encodes binary data as braille characters with each dot being raised corresponding to that bit being a 1 and each dot not raised being a 0. The mapping between dot position and bit position is explained below.

Install

npm i braille-binary

Usage

const bb = require('braille-binary')

console.log(bb(0b01010101)) // ⡕
console.log(bb(0b10010101)) // ⢕
console.log(bb(255)) // ⣿
console.log(bb(257)) // ⠁⠁

Dot Numbering

According to ISO/TR 11548-1 Communication aids for blind persons, the standard dot-numbering is 1 to 8. Historically only 6-dot cells were used, so when the lower two dots were added later they were given the numbering 7 and 8. This allows for backwards compatibility with the 6-dot definitions already used. On the other hand, this results in an irregular numbering with 1-2-3-7 in the left column and 4-5-6-8 in the right.

When designing this module, the question of which dots corresponded to what column in a binary number arose. An alternative to the standard numbering would be arbitrary and though potentially more intuitive. I ultimately to keep the standard numbering system to keep in line with braille standards and for ease in implementation given that the unicode character codes directly map to their binary value representation.

For more details about numbering conventions and conversion to binary, reference the wikipedia article.

Related

• braille-encode - Another binary to braille encoder that uses a different dot numbering system
• braille - Converts between text and braille