Re: TWM: truetype support

On Mon, 22 Oct 2007, Eeri Kask wrote:

>>> (I always considered the significantly simpler approach being enough:
>>> the user in enabling TWM_USE_XFT voluntarily passes "the point of no
>>> return"; if xft-font problems arise, then these are to be solved.)

>> Well, that's the point.  As you have it, the end user does _not_ in fact
>> decide on TWM_USE_XFT.  The distributor does.

> I not quite sure if this is the essential point in our case who and how
> compiles twm, but which fonts are installed and what stands in
> system.twmrc for a user not wishing to touch the default,
> distributor-provided configuration.

> Having not verified, but I strongly suspect if starting the unmodified
> twm having first removed the 'misc/' font directory entirely, then X is
> not going to find 'fixed', and as of now, twm refuses to start. It
> appears, 'fixed' is an alias to something like
> '-misc-fixed-medium-r-semicondensed--13-120-75-75-c-60-iso8859-1'
> according to misc/fonts.alias;  and the key is, this name is XLFD compliant.

> So, luckily we are now a step closed to the solution:  let's not use
> 'fixed' as coded-in-default in twm.c if TWM_USE_XFT is defined, but
> '-*-fixed-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*', and neither XListFonts() nor
> XftFontOpenXlfd() have any further difficulties!  (Is XListFonts()
> supposed to translate font alias names at all?)  This looks a good idea,
> in fact this is what you suggested first: let XListFonts() resolve
> 'fixed' and then use it.  Now we know how to do that. :-)

> (As a backside, we then remove the flexibility in twm to use the
> 'fixed'-alias-redirection to an arbitrary font.)

First, the X server does not even start if it cannot resolve 'fixed'.  In 
that case, whether or not `twm` starts is a moot point.

Secondly, there are likely to be .twmrc's out there that specify other 
aliases, such as '7x13' and so on.  Thus, it is important to fall back to a 
raster font when Xft cannot resolve a font name, whether or not that name is 
a default.  This makes it unnecessary to change twm's default font names.

Marc.

+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
|  Marc Aurele La France           |  work:   1-780-492-9310          |
|  Academic Information and        |  fax:    1-780-492-1729          |
|    Communications Technologies   |  email:  [email protected]         |
|  352 General Services Building   +----------------------------------+
|  University of Alberta           |                                  |
|  Edmonton, Alberta               |    Standard disclaimers apply    |
|  T6G 2H1                         |                                  |
|  CANADA                          |                                  |
+----------------------------------+----------------------------------+
XFree86 developer and VP.  ATI driver and X server internals.