braille used for encoding English, reducing community-fragmentation 2. reduce the overall number of official coding systems, which currently include: a. literary code (since 1933, English Braille Grade 2 has been the main component) i. BANA flavor used in North America, et cetera ii. BAUK flavor used in United Kingdom, etc. b. Textbook Formats and Techniques code c. math-notation and science-notation codes i. Nemeth Code (since 1952, in North America and several other countries) ii. modern variants of Taylor Code, a subset of literary code (since 18xx, standard elsewhere, alternative in North America) iii. Extended Nemeth Code With Chemistry Module iv. Extended Nemeth Code With Ancient Numeration Module v. Mathematical Diagrams Module (not actually associated with any particular coding-system) d. Computer Braille Code (since the 1980s, for special characters) i. the basic CBC ii. CBC With Flowchart Module e. Braille Music Code (since 1829, last upgraded/unified 1997, used for vocals and instrumentals—this one explicitly not to be unified nor eliminated) f. [added later] IPA Braille code (used for phonetic transcriptions—this one did not yet exist in 1991) 3. if possible, unify the literary-code used across English-speaking countries 4. where it is not possible to reduce the number of coding systems, reduce conflicts a. most especially, rule-conflicts (which make the codes incompatible at a "software" level—in human brains and computer algorithms) b. symbol conflicts, for example, the characters "$", "%", "]", and "[" are all represented differently in the various code systems c. sometimes the official coding-systems themselves are not explicitly in conflict, but ambiguity in their rules can lead to accidental conflicts 5. the overall goal of steps 1 to 4 above is to make acquisition of reading, writing, and teaching skill in the use of braille quicker, easier, and more efficient 6. this in turn will help reverse the trend of steadily eroding usage of Braille itself (which is being replaced by electronics and/or illiteracy) 7. besides those practical goals, it is also desired that braille—as a writing system—have the properties required for long-term success: a. universal, with no special code-system for particular subject-matter, no special-purpose "modules", and no serious disagreements about how to encode English b. coherent, with no internal conflicts, and thus no need for authoritative fiat to "resolve" such conflicts by picking winners and losers c. ease of use, with dramatically less need for braille-coding-specific lessons, certifications, workshops, literature, etc. d. uniform yet extensible, with symbol-assignment giving