On 12-09-2013, at 3:30 PM, Igor Stasenko <siguctua at gmail.com> wrote:

> 
> 
> 
> On 4 September 2013 03:21, tim Rowledge <tim at rowledge.org> wrote:
> 
> On 02-09-2013, at 12:45 PM, tim Rowledge <tim at rowledge.org> wrote:
> 
> > 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.
> 
> 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.
> 
>  
> (sorry for being late on topic)
> 
> In Pharo, we certainly do. But FreeType code also needs a decent review and cleanup for sure.

Most code does; little code ever gets one.

> The freetype packages is an integral part of pharo base image, and maintained there.
> As for its plugin, i even managed to fix a bug recently in it.. in primitive which nobody uses though..
> mainly because i had plans to use it, but i haven't time to play an experiment, yet. (i am still thinking
> , maybe naively, that FT rendering speed can be improved).

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. 

> 
> Concerning MultiCharacterMeetPainfulDeathWhenStaringAtIt ... it just impossible to do something with it,
> especially considering that it used for rendering text, and if you break/change  it , you won't be able to fix it 
> (because the image is using the very same code which you just broke to render all text.. ). 
> At least in Pharo, we decided to not even try to do something about it (and as far as i know, nobody tries
> to do anything for years), instead we decided to write things from scratch,and when it will be ready, throw
> all this out without a bit of regret.

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.


tim
--
tim Rowledge; tim at rowledge.org; http://www.rowledge.org/tim
Strange OpCodes: BW: Branch on Whim