computer science

History of Sinhala software

History of Sinhala software is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand History of Sinhala software rather than just read about it. In short: Sinhala language software for computers have been present since the late 1980s (Samanala written in C) but no standard character representation system was put in place which resulted in proprietary character representation systems and fonts. In the wake of this CINTEC (Computer and Information Technology Council of Sri Lanka) introduced Sinhala within the UNICODE (16‑bit character technology) standard.

Key takeaways

History of Sinhala software belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect History of Sinhala software to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of History of Sinhala software from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Sinhala language software for computers have been present since the late 1980s (Samanala written in C) but no standard character representation system was put in place which resulted in proprietary character representation systems and fonts. In the wake of this CINTEC (Computer and Information Technology Council of Sri Lanka) introduced Sinhala within the UNICODE (16‑bit character technology) standard. ICTA concluded the work started by CINTEC for approving and standardizing Sinhala Unicode in Sri Lanka.

Timeline

1980–1989 1985

CINTEC establishes a committee for the use of Sinhala & Tamil in Computer Technology. 1987

"DOS WordPerfect" Reverend Gangodawila Soma Thero, who was the chief incumbent at the Springvale Buddhist temple in Melbourne, Australia asked the Lay members of the temple to produce a Monthly Newsletter for the temple in Sinhala, called "Bodu Puwath". A lay person named Jayantha de Silva developed two HP PCL Sinhala fonts called Lihil and an intelligent Phonetic keyboard that was able to select letters based on context, together with a printer driver and screen fonts. All this was possible because the utilities to create the keyboard and printer driver were supplied with WordPerfect. It was easy to use and was installed in many PCs owned by lay members and in the temple PC for typing articles. The program fell into disuse after Windows came online in 1990 as it did not support the WordPerfect macro keyboard. 1988/1989

"Super77" First trilingual word processor (DOS based) initially developed at "Super Bits Computer Systems", Katunayake and further improved up to the commercial level at IFS kandy (by Rohan Manamudali & Sampath Godamunne, under Prof. Cyril Ponnamperuma). Later it was named as "THIBUS Trilingual Software System" (Windows based).

1989

"WadanTharuwa" (means WordStar in Sinhala) developed by the University of Colombo. It was one of the first commercial Sinhala word processing software products. Gives inspiration to a new generation of developers to pursue further innovation in this field.

1990–1999 1992

True Type Font Set KANDY jointly developed by Niranjan Meegammana and Micheal Gruber as part of project work (German Sri Lankan Co-Operation programme, 1988–1996) to use Sinhala Language in digital navigation charts. 1995

Sarasavi, also developed by the University of Colombo is a new version of WadanTharuwa, the first Trilingual software of its kind. Thibus for Windows developed by Science Land (Pvt) Ltd. The most successful commercial software. Also includes the first Sinhala/English/Tamil dictionary and word by word translation technology. Niranjan Meegammana continuing his work introduced New Kandy and several other windows fonts with Sinhala Word, one of the first Sinhala and Tamil word processors. 1996

Sri Lanka CD, A Sinhala Encyclopedia like CD on Sri Lanka developed by Niranjan Meegammana using New Kandy fonts. 1997

Helewadana for Windows developed by Microimage (Pvt) Ltd and Harsha Punasinghe. The most notable competition to Thibus during that time. Provides almost every functionality provided in Thibus. Lankdeepa and Virakesari News papers published online by Niranjan Meegammana using Kandy New and Jaffna fonts. Greatly appreciated by Sri Lankan world over as Sinhala Content and communications on internet started with this initiative by ISP Ceycom Global Communications Ltd. 1998

Sinhala Word developed by Niranjan Meegamanna and becomes popular among the internet users and the font aKandyNew becomes the web standard font. The software supports both Phonetic and Wijesekara keyboards. SLS1134/Unicode standards released by CINTEC for the first time.

2000–2009 2000

Thibus Dictionary – Sri Lanka’s First Digital Word Translator The Thibus Sinhala-English Dictionary, developed by Rohan Manamudali and the original Thibus software team, was released in 2000 and is considered Sri Lanka’s first digital bilingual dictionary (Later, Tamil was added, making it the first trilingual digital dictionary in Sri Lanka) .

It provided Sinhala–English and English–Sinhala word translation in an interactive, Windows-based desktop application. Widely used in education and administration, it was part of a broader initiative that followed the 1989 release of the Thibus Trilingual Word Processor (Dos-based and Windows-based in 2005).

2000

http://www.kaputa.com introduced by Niranjan Meegammana at e fusion pvt ltd. using Kaputa true type font which superseded Kandy New on web content and email communications opened up a new era of Sinhala content with mass content published by kaputa.com. Thibus and Helawadana release the new versions of their successful products. The new versions have the transliteration technology built in. (Very primitive stages of transliteration.) 2002

Madura English-Sinhala Dictionary developed by Madura Kulatunga is released. The dictionary software is distributed as freeware. However the dictionary database is originally developed and owned by Thibus. Siyabasa Sinhala Typing software developed by Dineth Chathuranga is released. This one single program is compatible and works with Windows 98 to Windows 7 operating systems. 2002-2004

Sinhala Text Box developed by Dasith Wijesiriwardena, a lightweight word processor which supports publishing web pages to the internet and supports almost all the existing Fonts and Keyboards. Has built in support for transliteration keyboard input in most fonts. One of the major draw backs being the lack of support for Unicode. Wins best software awards at CSITTS (Peradeniya University) 2003 and in Digital Fusion (APIIT) 2004. Tusitha Randunuge and Niranjan Meegammana at e fusion pvt ltd, released Kaputa dot com 2004 font with improved mapping for web content. Lanka Linux User Group (LKLUG) introduces Sinhala Unicode in Linux. The "Iskoola Pota" Unicode Sinhala font released by Microsoft. It is a Unicode font developed by Microsoft, designed to accurately represent Sinhala characters on digital platforms. Iskoola Pota is widely utilized in various digital applications, including word processing software, web design, and mobile devices, to enable Sinhala speakers to communicate effectively in their native language online. Its clear and legible design makes it a popular choice for both professional and personal use, contributing to the preservation and promotion of the Sinhala language in the digital age.

Tusitha Randunuge and Niranjan Meegammana at http://www.kaputa.com released Kaputa Unicode Fonts and Keyboard drivers. 2004-2006

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with History of Sinhala software

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what History of Sinhala software claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to History of Sinhala software before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about History of Sinhala software ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of History of Sinhala software

In research: History of Sinhala software appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses History of Sinhala software in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: History of Sinhala software is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics History of software, Sinhala-language mass media, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for History of Sinhala software outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study History of Sinhala software in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what History of Sinhala software means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain History of Sinhala software out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is History of Sinhala software in simple terms?

Why does History of Sinhala software matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study History of Sinhala software?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on History of Sinhala software.