Date: Tue, 17 Apr 2001 09:51:40 +0200 From: Rahul Siddharthan <rsidd@physics.iisc.ernet.in> To: Brett Glass <brett@lariat.org> Cc: James Howard <howardjp@well.com>, Joseph Mallett <jmallett@newgold.net>, chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: banner(6) Message-ID: <20010417095140.A74385@lpt.ens.fr> In-Reply-To: <4.3.2.7.2.20010416211727.045766e0@localhost>; from brett@lariat.org on Mon, Apr 16, 2001 at 09:18:41PM -0600 References: <Pine.GSO.4.21.0104161028290.23302-100000@well.com> <20010416191256.R27477@lpt.ens.fr> <Pine.GSO.4.21.0104161028290.23302-100000@well.com> <20010416193151.U27477@lpt.ens.fr> <4.3.2.7.2.20010416211727.045766e0@localhost>
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Brett Glass said on Apr 16, 2001 at 21:18:41: > At 11:31 AM 4/16/2001, Rahul Siddharthan wrote: > > >I could say "typeface" if that makes you feel better. But the figlet > >package itself calls them "fonts". > > "Fonts" is the correct term. A "typeface" is a design for a set of > characters, regardless of size. A "font" is a typeface scaled to a > specific size and density (e.g. 11 point bold). I think that needs clarification. Merely scaling a font (multiplying by a factor x) doesn't create a new font. A scalable helvetica postscript font is the same font at all sizes. Traditionally, when you scale a typeface (in particular, make it smaller) you're supposed to change its appearance to improve readability. But Knuth's Computer Modern is the only computer font family I know of which actually does this. So Computer Modern 6pt roman is actually different from 10pt roman in the same typeface. But both are scalable -- for illustration, Knuth's TeXbook compares a 6pt font scaled to 10pt, with the corresponding 10pt font. I have the impression that, traditionally (in the days of movable type), a general design was (as you say) a "typeface" and a "font" was a particular set of characters implementing a typeface. Or something like that. In the computer age, "font" has acquired a slightly different meaning. In the Adobe/Microsoft age, the distinction between different sizes of the same typeface seems to have vanished. - Rahul. To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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