Word separator (source code)

= Word separator

A \b[word separator] is a text unit whose primary role is to separate words. <Unicode> SPACE U+0020 and <non-breaking space> U+00A0 are common examples. In <CSS>, the word-separator classification helps determine where <word spacing> is applied after white-space processing.<CSS Text Module Level 3 by World Wide Web Consortium>[§7.1: word-separator characters and extra spacing]{ref}

Separation and <line breaking> are related but distinct. In a suitable ordinary text context, a normal space between `10` and `kg` provides a possible break. Using a <non-breaking space> there keeps the number and unit together at that boundary. Both characters can still provide visible separation.<Unicode Line Breaking Algorithm by the Unicode Consortium>[Line-breaking properties: GL class and rules LB12/LB12a]{ref}

A language can also write words without visible separators, so a count of space characters is not a universal word-counting method. <Text shaping>, <word spacing> and permitted breaks must follow the appropriate text-processing rules. A separator's stored character and the selected <glyph advance> jointly participate in the geometry.