🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <ANIK.92Aug6161807@lyra.crhc.uiuc.edu> anik@crhc.uiuc.edu
(Sadun Anik) writes:

     A correction on my previous posting. There is *NO* ATM for Unix
   boxes. I am sorry for the error. However there is an X package (I
   don't know the name) which does rasterise Type 1 fonts. We have
   that package to use Type 1 fonts in Ghostview.

I think this is still not quite correct.

Ghostview uses Ghostscript to render PostScript(TM).  Ghostscript
includes its own code to render Type 1 fonts, so no support from X is
necessary.

On the other hand, there is in fact a contributed Type 1 renderer for
the X11R5 MIT Sample Server, which, according to my limited
understanding of ATM, provides most of the functionality of ATM under
X.  On the X11R5 tapes, it can be found under contrib/fonts/lib/font.
It is quite easy to install if you follow the instructions in
.../font/Type1/README.  Make sure to get the latest patched version
because the version on the tape has some bugs that prevent it from
rendering fonts with unusual encodings.

Now with the Type 1 renderer built into the MIT X11R5 server (or the
X11R5 font server) you can use Type 1 fonts from *all* applications
that can request fonts from the X server.  [Even without the Type 1
renderer, you can use scalable Bitstream Speedo format fonts with the
X11R5 server.]  The font naming scheme of X (XLFD for X Logical Font
Description conventions) has been enhanced in R5 to support scalable
fonts.

Unfortunately very few of the programs that could make use of scalable
fonts know how to request them from an X server that supports them.
Ghostscript for example still does its own Type 1 font rendering even
on an X server that already supports Type 1 fonts.  The same is true
for TeX previewers -- these should have methods ask the X server for
scalable fonts, which could make previewing TeX documents with
non-Metafont fonts much easier.  Even for Computer Modern fonts it
would often make sense to buy Type 1 versions that could be used by
the X11R5 server as well as PostScript(TM) printers.  The bitmap (PK)
versions of the fonts would become completely unnecessary for many
sites.

I would really like to see more programs that can make use of the
font scaling technology which is available in X11R5 *for free*.
DVI and PostScript(TM) previewers are prime candidates for this.
-- 
Simon.