DocsCompound Text is a format for multiple character set data, such as multi-lingual text. The format is based on ISO standards for encoding and combining character sets. Compound Text is intended to be used in three main contexts: inter-client communication using selections, as defined in the Inter-Client Communication Conventions Manual (ICCCM); window properties (e.g., window manager hints as defined in the ICCCM); and resources (e.g., as defined in Xlib and the Xt Intrinsics).
Compound Text is intended as an external representation, or interchange format, not as an internal representation. It is expected (but not required) that clients will convert Compound Text to some internal representation for processing and rendering, and convert from that internal representation to Compound Text when providing textual data to another client.