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

[Ethan Grammatikidis <eekee57@fastmail.fm>]

On 26 Feb 2010, at 02:43, erik quanstrom wrote:

>> 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 find Apple's easier to read, curiously enough. Perhaps those who
don't could use fontsrv from an X11 build of p9p.

>
> 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
>