Step 3 : The dots 3 and 6 combined with other upper cell combinations will provide another
nine combinations. They are as follows:
Braille cell Mirror image
Therefore, the total combinations obtained so far are 62. By using all six dots of the Braille
cell ( ) one more combination is added, thus making the total Braille dots configurations
to 63. The discovery method is applied when braille dot combinations are introduced in this
manner. Repeat this exercise and get familiarized with all the combinations.
Description of the Base Codes and the Branch Codes
Out of the 63 combinations of the Braille dots, 36 combinations are used for the alphabets
and ten for numbers and therefore, mathematical Braille codes are basically the combinations
of the 27 configurations which may stand alone or appear in combination with the remain-
ing 36 configurations. For better understanding, the 27 combinations may be treated as
the base codes. As already explained, the shape indicator ( ) becomes a base code and
all codes which emerge as a result of attachment of different Braille
cell configurations with this base code indicate different mathematical codes for shapes,
operations, etc., which may be called as branch codes. Therefore, the branch code
occupies one or more cells and it should necessarily have the base code in it as the
main indicator. Let us illustrate this with the groups of braille codes. Call the group of
-.
..
-.
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••
..
..
-.
- ...
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.•
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-.
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••
••
..
..
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.•
..-.
..
..
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