[2][3] Javanese script is an abugida writing system which consists of 20 to 33 basic letters, depending on the language being written.

Traditionally, the script is written without spaces between words (scriptio continua) but is interspersed with a group of decorative punctuation.

Javanese script's evolutionary history can be traced fairly well because significant amounts of inscriptional evidence left behind allowed for epigraphical studies to be carried out.

Javanese script was used throughout the island at a time when there was no easy means of communication between remote areas and no impulse towards standardization.

In West Java, for example, the script was mainly used by the Sundanese nobility (ménak) due to the political influence of the Mataram kingdom.

Each leaf can only accommodate around 4 lines of writing, which are incised horizontally with a small knife and then blackened with soot to increase readability.

Daluang (also spelled dluwang) is a paper made from the beaten bark of the saéh tree (Broussonetia papyrifera).

Visually, daluang can be easily differentiated from regular paper by its distinctive brown tint and fibrous appearance.

Daluang is commonly used in manuscripts produced by Javanese kraton (palaces) and pesantren (Islamic boarding schools) between the 16th and 17th centuries.

[16] Literature genres with the longest attested history are Sanskrit epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, which have been recomposed since the Kawi period and introduced hundreds of familiar characters in Javanese wayang stories today, including Arjuna, Srikandi, Ghatotkacha and many others.

Since the introduction of Islam, characters of Middle-Eastern provenance such as Amir Hamzah and the Prophet Joseph have also been frequent subjects of writing.

There are also local characters, usually set in Java's semi-legendary past, such as Prince Panji, Damar Wulan, and Calon Arang.

[18] While lauded as a considerable technical achievement, many at the time felt that Vlissingen's design was a coarse copy of the fine Javanese hand used in literary texts, and so this early attempt was further developed by numerous other people to varying degrees of success as the study of Javanese developed over the years.

[19] In 1838, Taco Roorda completed his typeface, known as Tuladha Jejeg, based on the hand of Surakartan scribes[b] with some European typographical elements mixed in.

[14][21] In government administration, Javanese script was part of the multilingual legal text on the Netherlands Indies gulden banknotes circulated by the Bank of Java.

In order to lower production costs and keep book prices affordable to the general populace, many publishers (such as the government-owned Balai Pustaka) gradually prioritized publications in the Latin alphabet.

Many publishers, including Balai Pustaka, continued to print books, newspapers, and magazines in Javanese script due to sufficient, albeit declining, demand.

The use of Javanese script only started to drop significantly during the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies beginning in 1942.

[d] Nevertheless, the use of Javanese script did decline significantly during the Japanese occupation and it never recovered its previous widespread use in post-independence Indonesia.

Most Javanese people today know the existence of the script and recognize a few letters, but it is rare to find someone who can read and write it meaningfully.

[27][28] Therefore, as recently as 2019, it is not uncommon to see Javanese script signage in public places with numerous misspellings and basic mistakes.

[36] There are numerous interpretations on the supposed philosophical and esoteric qualities of the hanacaraka sequence, [37] and it is often linked to the myth of Aji Saka.

In modern Javanese, pa cerek and nga lelet are mandatory shorthand for combinations of ra + e ⟨ꦫ + ◌ ꦼ → ꦉ⟩ and la + e ⟨ꦭ + ◌ ꦼ → ꦊ⟩.

[44] Consonant clusters containing a semivowel are written by adding a diacritic (Javanese: ꦱꦤ꧀ꦝꦁꦔꦤ꧀ꦮꦾꦚ꧀ꦗꦤ, romanized: sandhangan wyanjana) to the base syllable.

Traditional Javanese texts are written with no spaces between words (scriptio continua) with several punctuation marks called pada (ꦥꦢ).

[55] Other than the regular punctuation, one of Javanese texts' distinctive characteristics is pepadan (ꦥꦼꦥꦢꦤ꧀), a series of highly ornate verse marks.

[57] Pepadan is one of the most prominent elements in a typical Javanese manuscript and they almost always highly decorative, incorporating calligraphy, coloring, and even gilding.

Aja sira ngingu kucing, lurik ireng buntut panjang, punika awon lamaté, sekelan sring tukaran, aran ḍaḍang sungkawa, pan adoh rijeki nipun, yèn buṇḍel nora ngapa.

As direct descendants of Kawi script, Javanese and Balinese still retain many similarities in terms of basic glyph shape for each letter.

Daarbij zijn de kosten daarmede ongeveer 1⁄3 van druk in Javaansch karakter, aangezien drukwerk in dat type, dat bovendien niet ruim voorhanden is, 1+1⁄2 à 2 x kostbaarder (en tijdroovender) uitkomt dan in Latijnsch type, mede doordat het niet op de zetmachine kan worden gezet, en een pagina Javaansch type sleechts ongeveer de helft aan woorden bevat van een pagina van denzelfden tekst in Latijnsch karakter.