Technical & Developer
What Are ZWJ Sequences? How Emoji Combine
Learn how Zero Width Joiner (ZWJ) sequences combine multiple emoji into one — from family emoji to professions to flags.
Unicode Normalization Forms: NFC, NFD, NFKC, NFKD Explained
Understand Unicode normalization forms NFC, NFD, NFKC, and NFKD — what they do, why they matter for emoji, and when to use each one.
Unicode Emoji Properties: Extended_Pictographic, Emoji_Presentation, and More
A developer's guide to Unicode emoji properties: what Extended_Pictographic, Emoji_Presentation, Emoji_Modifier, and Emoji_Component mean in practice.
Text vs Emoji Presentation Selectors: VS15 (U+FE0E) and VS16 (U+FE0F)
How Unicode variation selectors VS15 and VS16 control text vs emoji presentation — with code examples for detection and normalization.
Implementing Skin Tone Modifiers Programmatically
How to implement emoji skin tone modifiers programmatically: Fitzpatrick scale code points, modifier base detection, multi-person sequences, and UI patterns.
Why string.length Lies: Grapheme Clusters and Emoji Length
Why string.length fails for emoji, what grapheme clusters are, and how to correctly count characters in JavaScript, Python, and more.
Emoji Version Detection and Graceful Degradation
How to detect which emoji version a platform supports, check for specific emoji availability, and implement graceful degradation for unsupported emoji.
Emoji String Length Gotchas: Surrogate Pairs, Grapheme Clusters, and Byte Counts
Why emoji cause surprising string length results in Python, JavaScript, and Go — surrogate pairs, grapheme clusters, and how to count correctly.
Emoji Security: Homoglyphs, Spoofing, Invisible Characters, and Filtering
Security risks from emoji in user input: homoglyph spoofing, invisible Unicode characters, emoji in SQL/code injection, and how to filter and sanitize safely.
Implementing Emoji Search: CLDR Annotations, Tokenization, and Fuzzy Matching
Build a high-quality emoji search using Unicode CLDR annotations, keyword tokenization, inverted indexes, and fuzzy matching algorithms.
How Emoji Rendering Works Across Platforms: Font Stacks and Fallbacks
Understand how operating systems render emoji differently, how font stacks work, and how to handle fallbacks in web and native applications.
Emoji Regex Patterns: Matching Emojis in JavaScript and Python
Learn how to write reliable regex patterns to match emojis in JavaScript and Python, including ZWJ sequences, skin tones, and flags.
Emojis in URLs and Domain Names: Punycode, IDN, and Percent-Encoding
How emojis work in URLs and domain names: Punycode encoding, IDN (Internationalized Domain Names), percent-encoding in paths and query strings.
Handling Emojis in JSON and REST APIs
How to correctly handle emoji in JSON serialization, REST API design, database storage, and HTTP headers — including surrogate pair pitfalls.
Storing Emojis in Databases: MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite
How to correctly store emoji in MySQL, PostgreSQL, and SQLite databases. Covers utf8mb4, collations, column sizing, and common pitfalls.
How Emoji Fonts Work: COLR, CBDT, sbix, and SVG Font Tables
A technical deep-dive into emoji font formats: COLR/CPAL vector layering, CBDT/CBLC bitmap embedding, sbix Apple bitmaps, and SVG-in-OpenType.
Emoji Encoding Guide: UTF-8, UTF-16 & Surrogate Pairs
A developer's guide to emoji encoding — how UTF-8, UTF-16, and UTF-32 represent emoji, and common pitfalls with surrogate pairs.
Emoji Detection in Text Strings: Algorithms and Libraries
Learn how to detect emojis in text strings using Unicode ranges, regex patterns, and libraries across Python, JavaScript, and Go.
Emoji Accessibility Guide: Screen Readers, Alt Text, and ARIA
Make emoji accessible to screen reader users with proper alt text, ARIA labels, Unicode descriptions, and best practices for inclusive emoji usage.
Building an Emoji Picker Component from Scratch
Step-by-step guide to building an emoji picker component: data sourcing, categorization, search, skin tones, keyboard navigation, and performance.