Re: [9fans] problem using a vera font in rio

[erik quanstrom <quanstro@quanstro.net>]

> it could be a general solution - fontsrv just spits out
> ordinary font files that you could use on plan 9.

ttf2subf is only about 150 lines of code, once liberated from
libfreetype.

> > I am curious why the difference in rendering. in your screenshot 't',
> > 'f' and 'g' look especially blurry. subpixel rendering?
>
> i don't know.  it's not libfreetype.  fontsrv asks the OS X
> graphics code to render each glyph into a box and then
> concatenates the boxes to make the subfont.
> all the text was noticeably lighter (more grey)
> than in your screen shot when i put them side by side.

this is due to apple's algorithm for rendering glyphs.
with freetype, if you get a purely vertical or horizontal
stroke that is pixel-aligned, then you get no grey fuzz.
with apple's algorithm, you will get grey fuzz.  overall,
the color density is more even with the apple algorithm,
but it results in many more grey pixels.  you can use the
built-in screen magnifier to see this.

i tend to like subpixel rendering, even the fuzz problem.
(i don't have an opinion on apple's algorithm.  i don't have one.)
this is because i use fonts small enough that the fuzz is
hard to see and a non antialised font looks poor.  the
font i use (/lib/font/bit/cyberbit/mod14.font) is about the
same pitch as /lib/font/bit/lucidasans/unicode.7.font.

maybe i just need better contacts :-).

- erik