In a globalized world, it is essential to encode characters in a manner that can be interpreted internationally and to encode and present information in the script required by the user. In such an environment it is not unusual to find multiple scripts present within a single bibliographic record even when transliteration is still  required for indexing in a homogenous script.  Accurate character encoding is therefore essential for exchanging data internationally.

Inevitably, however the more characters that need to be accurately described, the more complex the character encoding standard has to be.