<div dir="ltr"><br><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On 13 September 2013 00:43, tim Rowledge <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:tim@rowledge.org" target="_blank">tim@rowledge.org</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im"><br>
On 12-09-2013, at 3:30 PM, Igor Stasenko <<a href="mailto:siguctua@gmail.com">siguctua@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
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> On 4 September 2013 03:21, tim Rowledge <<a href="mailto:tim@rowledge.org">tim@rowledge.org</a>> wrote:<br>
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> On 02-09-2013, at 12:45 PM, tim Rowledge <<a href="mailto:tim@rowledge.org">tim@rowledge.org</a>> wrote:<br>
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> > Who, if anyone, is maintaining the FreeType package? Who, if anyone, is using it? It has some rather old methods that nastily over-ride more recent methods in the trunk image. That implies it is moribund to me.<br>
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> Well it certainly sounds like nobody cares about FreeType. I guess that means nobody will mind as I rewrite some of the low-level font/scanner code and almost certainly break FreeType.<br>
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> In Pharo, we certainly do. But FreeType code also needs a decent review and cleanup for sure.<br>
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</div>Most code does; little code ever gets one.<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><div>Amen.<br> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
> The freetype packages is an integral part of pharo base image, and maintained there.<br>
> As for its plugin, i even managed to fix a bug recently in it.. in primitive which nobody uses though..<br>
> mainly because i had plans to use it, but i haven't time to play an experiment, yet. (i am still thinking<br>
> , maybe naively, that FT rendering speed can be improved).<br>
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</div>Probably the smart thing is to use whatever the best, most fastidiously maintained library with the widest platform spread. Go for something that makes good use of GPUs. If FreeType is that, it's worth the pain. Probably. Just make sure it runs on ARM based machines from the get-go or it will become irrelevant within a few years. Intel is being eaten alive.<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><div> </div><div>AFAIK, Esteban was managed to build FT2 library on iOS.. and can use it in iOS VMs<br></div><div>so, from that perspective, i think, it is safe choice. <br></div><div>
As for GPUs & stuff: even, if you don't use FT2 library for rendering, but just for reading the font(s) data<br>and extracting all necessary info (like char/glyph mappings, kerning and glyph metrics + outlines) <br>
</div><div>that functionality alone, is good/heavy enough reason to keep using it. <br><br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
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> Concerning MultiCharacterMeetPainfulDeathWhenStaringAtIt ... it just impossible to do something with it,<br>
> especially considering that it used for rendering text, and if you break/change it , you won't be able to fix it<br>
> (because the image is using the very same code which you just broke to render all text.. ).<br>
> At least in Pharo, we decided to not even try to do something about it (and as far as i know, nobody tries<br>
> to do anything for years), instead we decided to write things from scratch,and when it will be ready, throw<br>
> all this out without a bit of regret.<br>
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</div>Oh you wimps! Where is the fun in that? If it doesn't involve quantum transforms via irrational phase-space dimensions while reciting Vogon Poetry in Klingon then it isn't difficult enough.<br>
<div class="im"><br></div></blockquote><div> </div><div>Well, if there would be any hope that it can be shaped into something more or less ugly (instead of horrifying),<br></div><div>i would be all hands for it. The main issue is that code has a lot of assumptions about font(s) and laying the <br>
glyphs in many places.. and things are heavily optimized to render first 256 characters by old primitive (which doesn't works btw)<br></div><div>Freetype fonts can't use that primitive, only raster fonts can.. <br>
</div><div> other assumptions about how fonts are rendered and by what.. a lot of these concerns is mixed in<br></div><div>single place.. so i do not see a solution there.<br></div><div>We decided to go more radical way in Pharo: we build a new text model (replacement for Text class)<br>
</div><div>and new layout and rendering engine for it. (oh and if you think it is less difficult than dealing with old<br></div><div>code, i afraid i must upset you ;).<br></div><div>Text domain is inherently complex. <br>
</div><div> <br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div class="im">
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tim<br>
--<br>
tim Rowledge; <a href="mailto:tim@rowledge.org">tim@rowledge.org</a>; <a href="http://www.rowledge.org/tim" target="_blank">http://www.rowledge.org/tim</a><br>
</div>Strange OpCodes: BW: Branch on Whim<br>
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</blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Best regards,<br>Igor Stasenko.
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