The Sinhala Word Processor Race: A Look Back at 1994

 

The Sinhala Word Processor Race: A Look Back at 1994

As I continue to compile my personal archives for an upcoming memoir and comprehensive history of computing in Sri Lanka, I occasionally unearth documents that perfectly encapsulate the atmosphere of the early days of local tech development. One such treasure is a clipping from the March 1994 issue of INFOLINK magazine, featuring an article titled "Setting the Standard in Sinhala Word Processing."

Looking back at this page brings forth a vivid reminder of a highly competitive and innovative era in our technological landscape.

From Pharmacology to the UK and Back

The INFOLINK piece serves as a rather neat summary of my early career. It traces my beginnings at the University of Colombo's Department of Pharmacology as a Research Assistant, where early exposure to computing fundamentally shifted my career trajectory.

This newfound direction led me to the UK for higher studies at the University of Reading, a period of rigorous learning that prepared me for my return to Sri Lanka. Joining the Institute of Computer Technology (ICT) in 1987 under the guidance of Professor V.K. Samaranayake placed me right at the centre of a massive technological hurdle: localising the digital workspace.

Building from Scratch

Unlike other regional languages that had existing frameworks to adapt, Sinhala word processing had to be built from the ground up. The late 1980s and early 1990s saw numerous claims and intense competition—what the magazine aptly dubbed the "Sinhala Word Processor Race."

My contribution to this race, which began in 1989, was the development of Wadantharuwa (charmingly misspelt as "Wedanthura" in the publication).

The Technical Leap: An 8-Bit Sinhala BIOS

What truly set Wadantharuwa apart from other packages on the market was its underlying architecture. We took the decision to develop a bespoke Sinhala Basic Input Output System (BIOS).

• Memory-Resident Design: The Sinhala BIOS was a disk-based, 8-bit standard code that remained memory-resident once the computer booted.

• High Resolution: Despite being a remarkably compact 20 Kb programme, it achieved high character resolution, allowing users to easily differentiate Sinhala characters on both mono and VGA monitors.

• Seamless Transition: Crucially, once loaded, the operation was entirely free, allowing operators to switch seamlessly between Sinhala and English, mixing text within the same document.

Preserving the History

This clipping is more than just a personal milestone; it is a vital record of how the foundational architecture for local language computing was engineered in Sri Lanka. While this blog post offers a brief overview, I am currently expanding these notes into a full, comprehensive chapter for my forthcoming book, where I will delve much deeper into the technical challenges and the brilliant minds who drove this era forward.