From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Msuck: nntp://news.gmane.io/gmane.comp.tex.context/24398 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Idris Samawi Hamid" Newsgroups: gmane.comp.tex.context Subject: OpenType fonts Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 15:21:05 -0700 Organization: Colorado State University Message-ID: Reply-To: mailing list for ConTeXt users NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed; delsp=yes; charset=iso-8859-15 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1134771761 19800 80.91.229.2 (16 Dec 2005 22:22:41 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 16 Dec 2005 22:22:41 +0000 (UTC) Cc: mailing list for Aleph Original-X-From: ntg-context-bounces@ntg.nl Fri Dec 16 23:22:37 2005 Return-path: Original-Received: from ronja.vet.uu.nl ([131.211.172.88] helo=ronja.ntg.nl) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1EnNxE-0003B2-67 for gctc-ntg-context-518@m.gmane.org; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:32 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id 77E1512845; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:31 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.ntg.nl ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (smtp.ntg.nl [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id 27043-03-2; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:27 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.vet.uu.nl (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id 81C3C12835; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:27 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from localhost (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with ESMTP id E264912836 for ; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:25 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from ronja.ntg.nl ([127.0.0.1]) by localhost (smtp.ntg.nl [127.0.0.1]) (amavisd-new, port 10024) with LMTP id 27016-02-4 for ; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:24 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: from trueband.net (director.trueband.net [216.163.120.8]) by ronja.ntg.nl (Postfix) with SMTP id 6A7CD12834 for ; Fri, 16 Dec 2005 23:21:23 +0100 (CET) Original-Received: (qmail 16713 invoked by uid 1006); 16 Dec 2005 22:21:22 -0000 Original-Received: from ishamid@colostate.edu by rs0 by uid 1003 with qmail-scanner-1.16 (spamassassin: 2.64. Clear:SA:0(0.0/100.0):. Processed in 1.427599 secs); 16 Dec 2005 22:21:22 -0000 Original-Received: from unknown (HELO trueband.net) (172.16.0.11) by -v with SMTP; 16 Dec 2005 22:21:20 -0000 Original-Received: (qmail 6975 invoked from network); 16 Dec 2005 22:21:16 -0000 Original-Received: from unknown (HELO walayah1.wildblue.com) (70.41.5.66) by -v with SMTP; 16 Dec 2005 22:21:16 -0000 Original-To: "mailing list for ConTeXt users" User-Agent: Opera M2/8.51 (Win32, build 7712) X-Virus-Scanned: 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: amavisd-new at ntg.nl Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.comp.tex.context:24398 Archived-At: Hi all, OpenType fonts are all the rage today. Are there any critiqes of the =20 format, or discussions of its limitations? How many typesetting applications can actually take full advantage of =20 opentype fonts? What are the chances that OpenType (at least some of its advanced =20 features) will go the way of MultipleMaster fonts? The answers to these questions have a bearing on my own advanced Classica= l =20 Arabic script project. For example, the ovf+ocp mechanism of Aleph seems = =20 much richer than what otf offers, so should I bother with otf at all or =20 just stick to enriched Type1 fonts (>256 glyphs, used by LatinModern)? I may be mistaken, but it seems that the Aleph utilities need updating to= =20 take full advantage of enriched Type1 fonts (not to mention otf fonts). =20 Right now I am still building ovf's from a series of standard type1's. Here is one possible limitation of otf (please correct me if I'm wrong): = =20 While an otf can contain an alternate glyph of a given character, it =20 cannot tell the typesetting application that, if there is the equivalent = =20 to underfull paragraph spacing, replace the default .1 with =20 .2. This sort of thing is common in, e.g. old Arabic lead-press =20 books and in handwritten books. TeX should be capable of this, though it = =20 remains to be seen whether this should be implemented at the engine level= =20 (a la pdfetex) or at the macro level. Best Idris --=20 Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/