From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.comp.tex.context/17647 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: John Culleton Newsgroups: gmane.comp.tex.context Subject: Re: Extending metapost Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 11:03:26 -0500 Organization: WexfordPress Message-ID: <200412271103.26964.john@wexfordpress.com> References: <40DC4CDF.2090904@wxs.nl> <20040628104035.018602bf@glenlivet.elvenkind.com> Reply-To: mailing list for ConTeXt users NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1104163958 13499 80.91.229.6 (27 Dec 2004 16:12:38 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 16:12:38 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: ntg-context-bounces@ntg.nl Mon Dec 27 17:12:32 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from ronja.vet.uu.nl ([131.211.172.88] helo=ronja.ntg.nl) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1CixU0-0000GT-00 for ; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:32 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id 7ABBA127B1; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:32 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.ntg.nl ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (ronja.vet.uu.nl [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id 10908-02-5; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:29 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.vet.uu.nl (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id BECFD127A1; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:29 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from localhost (localhost.localdomain [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id 78820127A1 for ; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:28 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.ntg.nl ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (ronja.vet.uu.nl [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id 10908-02-4 for ; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:27 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from mta13.adelphia.net (unknown [68.168.78.44]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6A888126F8 for ; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 17:12:27 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from 69-174-190-44.frdrmd.adelphia.net ([69.174.190.44]) by mta13.adelphia.net (InterMail vM.6.01.03.02 201-2131-111-104-20040324) with ESMTP id <20041227161218.FXYO5807.mta13.adelphia.net@69-174-190-44.frdrmd.adelphia.net> for ; Mon, 27 Dec 2004 11:12:18 -0500 Original-To: ntg-context@ntg.nl User-Agent: KMail/1.6.2 In-Reply-To: <20040628104035.018602bf@glenlivet.elvenkind.com> Content-Disposition: inline X-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new at ntg.nl X-BeenThere: ntg-context@ntg.nl X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: mailing list for ConTeXt users List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: ntg-context-bounces@ntg.nl Errors-To: ntg-context-bounces@ntg.nl X-Virus-Scanned: by amavisd-new at ntg.nl Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.comp.tex.context:17647 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.comp.tex.context:17647 On Monday 28 June 2004 04:40, Taco Hoekwater wrote: > Hi Hans, group, > > > I saw this passing by in another thread, and since I am myself currently > working > > on a C port of metapost: > > (and ... i also want to look into extending tex and metapost) > > What kind of extensions to metapost do you (or anyone else) have in mind? > > Progress update: > > Work on the C port of MP is coming along nicely. Work progress is fairly > slow because I have to make change quite a lot of small changes to the > code. I expect to have a 'working' test executable in about 3 or 4 weeks. > > libMP will have (at least) the following changes wrt. the Web source code: > > - C strings instead of a string pool ( and no pool file). > - A "struct METAPOST" instance that gets moved around, instead of global > variables (libMP will be thread-safe) > - A namespace for all externally visible procedures and enums (prefix 'mp') > - mp_initialize() and mp_finish() calls to allow clean restarts. > - All file I/O will be configurable (through callbacks) > - PostScript output will be isolated from the other output. (to allow other > output backends in the future). A worthy project, but one beyond my ability, would be a version of Metafont that output PostScript instead of bitmapped fonts. It seems that the bulk of the necessary labor was done in the creation of Metapost. All that is needed is the production of a pfb file and an afm file instead of individual graphics files. Does anyone else dream of such a project? -- John Culleton Short list of publishing/marketing books: http://wexfordpress.com/tex/shortlist.pdf