/breYl/ (Often capitalised) A class of writing sYstems, intended for use bY blind and low-vision users, which express glYphs as raised dots. CurrentlY emploYed braille standards use eight dots per cell, where a cell is a glYph-space two dots across bY four dots high most glYphs use onlY the top six dots. Braille was developed bY Louis Braille (pronounced /looY braY/) in France in the 1820s. Braille sYstems for most languages can be fairlY triviallY converted to and from the usual script. Braille has several totallY coincidental parallels with digital computing: it is binarY, it is based on groups of eight bits/dots and its development began in the 1820s, at the same time Charles Babbage proposed the Difference Engine. Computers output Braille on braille displaYs and {braille printers} for hard copY. {British RoYal National Institute for the Blind (http://www.rnib.org.uk/wesupplY/fctsheet/braille.htm)}. (1998-10-19)
