Date: Thu, 19 Apr 2001 15:25:28 -0500 From: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> To: Jamie Bowden <ragnar@sysabend.org> Cc: Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org>, James Howard <howardjp@well.com>, Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in>, Joseph Mallett <jmallett@newgold.net>, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: banner(6) Message-ID: <15071.18872.620776.754228@guru.mired.org> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.4.10.10104191301090.83352-100000@moo.sysabend.org> References: <15070.37699.876831.515060@guru.mired.org> <Pine.BSF.4.10.10104191301090.83352-100000@moo.sysabend.org>
next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help
Jamie Bowden <ragnar@sysabend.org> types: > On Thu, 19 Apr 2001, Mike Meyer wrote: > :Jamie Bowden <ragnar@sysabend.org> types: > :> On Wed, 18 Apr 2001, James Howard wrote: > :> :On Wed, 18 Apr 2001, Brett Glass wrote: > :> :> That's because Adobe misuses the term. I come from a family which > :> :> includes several generations of typesetters and type designers. > :> :> The correct meaning of the word "font" has existed for hundreds > :> :> of years, and abuse by one company can't change it. > :> :Everything Brett has said so far is confirmed by The Chicago Manual of > :> :Style. Just a note. > :> My grandfather is a printer. Has a Heidelberg in his garage. I don't > :> need to steenkin' Chicago Manual of Style to confirm what Brett's saying. > :> When he talks about a font, he's talking about something specific like > :> Helvetica 12pt. medium. > : > :So what did he call a collection of programs that are used to render a > :typeface? *That's* the question at hand. > Usually crap, as most suck. It's amazing just how bad computers are at > displaying fonts properly. He uses some program to layout offset jobs, > but for real precision small scale stuff, the movable type that changed > the world is far superior. Generally, yes. Every thing that computers have done to make text easier to generate and access has also made the resulting texts uglier, with the world wide web being the current extreme of both trends. > :Quoting the comp.fonts faq (my references are in storage), question > :1.12: > : > : A typeface is a set of lettters, numbers, and other symbolic > : characters that are related by repeating design elements [...]. > : > : A font is a computer file or program used to represent or > : create the typeface. > > :That's fairly close to how Brett defined fonts (a definition I agree > :with): a font is a rendering of a typeface. The FAQ is specific to > :fonts on the computer, and basically defines a font as a rendering of > :a typeface as a computer file or program. > I wasn't disagreeing with Brett. Reread my post, I was confirming that a > font was indeed a specific size and wieght of a typeface. I have always > thought the way computer companies use the word font was incredibly > stupid. I wasn't saying you disagreed with Brett. Reread *my* post. > :With all deference due to the old practitioners of the field, I think > :the font foundry that created the name "scalable fonts" chose the > :write noun to provide with a new adjective. > I'd say they chose the 'right' one, if didn't think the way the terms are > used in the computer industry is totally stupid. It's a typeface. Regular PS fonts have exactly *one* thing in common with a typeface, which makes calling them a typeface a real stretch. > You can scale it up or down, and change the weight on the fly to create a > font that meets your current need. There is no need to redefine terms > because some pointy haired moron can't read and comprehend a dictionary. You can't change the weight of regular PS fonts - that takes a different font. Only I guess you'd be happier if I said it takes a different typeface. Since I've never seen a typeface - only the result of using the font created from them - I'm curious as to what the controls that you change to get cold type look like. Got a reference where those are described. <mike -- Mike Meyer <mwm@mired.org> http://www.mired.org/home/mwm/ Independent WWW/Perforce/FreeBSD/Unix consultant, email for more information. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?15071.18872.620776.754228>