Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!swrinde!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!decwrl!ogicse!milton!donley
From: donley@milton.u.washington.edu (Erik Olson)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.postscript
Subject: generating afm files
Summary: low-odds query
Keywords: afm
Message-ID: <1991Apr25.175643.25619@milton.u.washington.edu>
Date: 25 Apr 91 17:56:43 GMT
Organization: University of Washington
Lines: 29

I've been reading this group for a couple months now, and have seen the
regular-as-clockwork postings for:
    - "Where can I get an HPGL->PS converter?"
    - "What's that silly binary code doing on the PFB files at [archive]?"
    - "How do I make PFB files work on a postscript printer?"
    - "How do I get a PFM file -> AFM file converter?"

Rather than post the same questions, I chose to research the answers myself...
Well, I managed to figure out the answers to all of these on my own through
careful back-reading of articles, but have definitely hit a snag on the
fourth, most puzzling, problem.  From all of your info, I understand that
the PFB files do not contain all of the info as the AFM's.  I could write
some sort of converter to get a minimum amount of information back into
an AFM file, but I was thinking of another possibility:  What about
reconstructing the AFM file from the postscript font itself?  Assuming
one has a decoded type-1 or type-3 font, is this possible?  Furthermore, is
it simple, or should I spend 3 months reading Adobe font documents before
attempting this?

Oh, for the record, I am interested in doing this because I would like to
use programs such as TeX (which like afm files) with the seemingly endless
archive of PD & Shareware fonts that appear to be tailored to ATM.  Thanks
in advance for any pointers.

   Erik
-- 
Erik D. Olson					 donley@milton.u.washington.edu

	Quoth the raven... "Eat my shorts!"  "BART!!!"