Re: SVG Fonts

I think SVG fonts are quite useful in a number of limited contexts.  For authors seeking to supplement an existing font with a glyph or two can easily create a quick SVG font.  A number of general drawing tools support SVG fonts, it's a simple way to add glyphs without delving into the complexity of a font tool like FontForge or FontLab.  That said, FontForge does allow you to create TTF fonts from SVG glyphs fairly easily:

http://mxr.mozilla.org/mozilla-central/source/layout/reftests/fonts/mark-generate.py

SVG fonts also make it possible to use script to modify fonts on the fly, to algorithmically create a bold face on the fly for example.  Many font licenses don't allow the form to be altered, using a font editor to make modifications for example, but I don't think this applies to on-the-fly modifications via script.  In general, having fonts as a more malleable resource within the browser is a good thing.  But I do agree with roc, general font development is better supported in OpenType, SVG fonts lack the richness of typographic controls available in OpenType.

The idea of sticking arbitrary content in the definition of a glyph is a concern, that's essentially using text as a short hand for general graphic content.  Text rendering is a critical path in a browser, having arbitrary content in glyphs means you need to run the font matching algorithm on text spans before you know whether a text run contains a set of simple glyphs or something that's the moral equivalent of an iframe.

I think the simple thing is to support SVG fonts that only contain simple path definitions with Cairo user fonts and segregate out fonts with arbitrary content and treat them as inline images.

John
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