Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!mit-eddie!uw-beaver!cornell!rochester!ken
From: ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap)
Newsgroups: comp.fonts
Subject: Re: Standard font formats.
Message-ID: <8419@sol.ARPA>
Date: 8 Apr 88 02:21:32 GMT
References: <626@umb.umb.edu>
Reply-To: ken@cs.rochester.edu (Ken Yap)
Organization: U of Rochester, CS Dept, Rochester, NY
Lines: 6

Actually it is more correct to say that tfm files hold 256 distinct
sets of metrics. TeX software assumes that characters with the same
residue modulo 256 have the same dimensions. As Knuth explains, this is
intended for oriental languages with many characters but few distinct
widths.

	Ken