Re: Making necessary OpenType features on by default

["Idris Samawi Hamid ادريس سماوي حامد" <ishamid@colostate.edu>]

Hi Otared,

On Sat, 21 Feb 2009 06:05:01 -0700, Otared Kavian <otared@gmail.com> wrote:

> If a humble opinion from an ordinary user may be issued, I agree with  
> Khaled that it would be extremely useful to have some basic default  
> settings for Arabic fonts, and even more generally for any particular  
> fonts used for other languages. This would not prevent those specialist  
> typesetters who want particular features to be turned on, to do so  
> through appropriate mechanisms.

sure, but it needs some thought. As I mentioned in my latest reply to  
Khaled, we can start with Scheherazade as an initial benchmark and proceed  
 from there.

> As a basic user I am frustrated when using mkiv, that most declaration  
> of features are completely cryptic, and not being a specialist of OTF or  
> other font specifications, I don't know which features are essential for  
> writing and typesetting an article in Persian or any language using  
> Arabic alphabet.

The difference -- I think -- is that xetex uses the system libraries.  
Uniscribe is not configurable, so you're stuck with however uniscribe  
interprets the ot features.

<snip>

> %\font\Faarsi=Scheherazade*CrypticFeatures at 14pt  % this does not work

Hmm, I wonder why...


> The ideal situation would be:
> • in a document, when one sets a language then a certain font, with  
> certain standard features is set by default;

sure, I suggest Scheherazade

> • when an adapted font for that language is defined by the user, then  
> certain features are set by default;

that needs some research, for reasons Hans has explained.

> • possibly a command like \setupArabic[state=start] 
> [...=...,features=...] (and the analogous settings for other languages  
> such as \setupHanzi[state=start][...=...,features=...], and alike),  
> could be imagined;

sure

> Therefore, in the same spirit one should have some default allowing the  
> user to write
> \setupArabic[state=start]
> \setupHanzi[state=start]
> \starttext
> goedmorgen Hans! This is some maths formula: $a^2+b^2 = c^2$.
> And this is some Arabic text written and typeset from right to left, in  
> the midst of some English text:
> \startArabic
>   سلام خالد، درود بر ادریس
> \stopArabic
>
> I understand that this can be done by each user upon defining his own  
> environment and installing fonts, etc. But
> for the non specialist it is not that easy to understand the intricacies.

For now the focus is getting OpenType and the mid-level interface solid,  
then we can focus on the high-level interface as you have described. OTOH,  
Getting Scheherazade (or some other mutually agreed-upon font) set up as  
default with a high-level interface should not be that hard.

سلام
Idris

-- 
Professor Idris Samawi Hamid, Editor-in-Chief
International Journal of Shi`i Studies
Department of Philosophy
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523
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