1. A character segmentation mechanism for cursive handwriting which comprises: means for obtaining continuous X and Y coordinate data and the instantaneous X and Y velocities associated therewith as a writing stylus is moving, means for detecting when a Y extremal is encountered (Y velocity = 0), means for detecting when an X extremal (X velocity = 0) is encountered, means for successively averaging the X displacement values associated with a particular segment whenever either extremal is encountered, whereby the average is updated each time, means for comparing the X displacement value associated with each X extremal to see if its magnitude is more than a predetermined threshold value above the current average X displacement value, and means for specifying that a segmentation should occur when the said displacement value is greater than said predetermined amount.