Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!world!decwrl!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!ncar!ico!auto-trol!marbru
From: marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: How to Get 90 degree Rotated Fonts?
Message-ID: <866@auto-trol.UUCP>
Date: 8 Oct 90 15:26:55 GMT
References: <863@auto-trol.UUCP> <9010080007.AA25121@expo.lcs.mit.edu>
Reply-To: marbru@auto-trol.UUCP (Martin Brunecky)
Organization: Auto-trol Technology, Denver
Lines: 44

In article <9010080007.AA25121@expo.lcs.mit.edu> rws@EXPO.LCS.MIT.EDU (Bob Scheifler) writes:
>>
>>   [ yeep, XPutFontBitmap would be much better, but there just ain't one,
>>     and the MIT guys don't like it, they want something really big and
>>     ugly - called "font server" ].
>>
>I used to think a font server might be sufficient for this, but no longer.
>I think some form of font downloading is desirable, although I'm not sure
>what the best form is.  The font server solves a different, but also
>important problem, and it need be neither "big" nor "ugly".  Right now
>resources within the Consortium are focused on the font server, because
>the people involved feel it is a more important problem to solve.  I hope
>that we will eventually find the resources to work on font downloading.

   I agree that the font server may solve an important problem, but
   I am also worried that the font server will introduce about as many
   new problems as it will solve. In particular, I am worried about
   the management aspects of the beast -> where it runs, who starts it
   up, how to identify connection to it, in what filespace it lives etc.

   However, even the "font server" needs to load the fonts into the X server,
    (I don't think that a font server creating a .bdf file somewhere,
     executing vendor-specific .bdf->server-format converter, munging servers
     font search path ... is a viable solution).
   Just imagine this scenario using XTerms with font directories somewhere
   on some host machine with some limitations applicable to font loading...
   To an application writer, introducing a font of application-specific
   symbols, the font-server will not make the life any easier.

   So, even if you come with a great font server, it still needs something
   like "XDownloadFont" to truly portably interface with normal X servers.
   Without such an extension, I personally consider any "font server"
   semi-useless.
   
   Why not come with the "XDownloadFont" extension FIRST. Most likely,
   it will be more widely used than your font server, and it will be
   a common prerequisite for your font server as well.

 
-- 
=*= Opinions presented here are solely of my own and not those of Auto-trol =*=
Martin Brunecky                   marbru@auto-trol.COM
(303) 252-2499                    {...}ncar!ico!auto-trol!marbru
Auto-trol Technology Corp. 12500 North Washington St., Denver, CO 80241-2404