Re: Extending metapost

[Taco Hoekwater <taco@elvenkind.com>]

John Culleton wrote:
> 
> 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. 

The truth is that nearly none of the necessary labor was done. Type 1 fonts
are in fact a somewhat different language from normal PostScript, even with
a somewhat different imaging model behind it. For one thing, Type 1 does not
allow shapes to overlap, and for another, it does not allow "white erasing".

> Does anyone else dream of such a project?

Yes, I do. And I am even willing to invest time in such a thing. But the truth
is: I am not familiar with the maths involved. I'd need a very good book on
the subject (2-D equation solving) and a lot of help. MetaType1 works, but
it makes some very strict demands on the input source, and I don't like that.
I'd much prefer a system that accepts 'standard' MF sources.


Greetings, Taco