[newb] Will xorg still allow non-hal config?

[Nicolas Mailhot]

Le Lun 1 décembre 2008 14:36, Olivier Galibert a écrit :
>
> On Mon, Dec 01, 2008 at 02:05:24PM +0100, Nicolas Mailhot wrote:
>>
>>
>> Le Lun 1 décembre 2008 13:44, Olivier Galibert a écrit :
>> >
>> > On Mon, Dec 01, 2008 at 01:40:57PM +0100, Nicolas Mailhot wrote:
>> >> As usual, people who care about something are free to maintain it
>> in
>> >> good shape, since this is how free software works.
>> >
>> > What is there to maintain, exactly?
>>
>> Fonts are not generated out of thin hair and they need to be updated
>> to keep up with the environment.
>>
>> Environment changes can be changes in encoding standards (unicode is
>> still evolving and even low-level hardware stuff such as USB
>> identifiers uses unicode),
>
> The bdf fonts use unicode.

It's one thing to respect an encoding standard it's another to have
the data corresponding to all the parts of this standard. One can "use
unicode" with a single-glyph font.

>> changes in font formats (use the same
>> format as everyone else if you want to tap in the common maintenance
>> pool),
>
> You plan to change bdf/pcf?

I just observe few people are working on them anymore, because most
applications use something else.

>> changes in hardware capabilities (hardware pixel density is not
>> a physical constant and any change there invalidates the existing
>> pool
>> of bitmap fonts).
>
> Bitmaps don't change.  A 12pt bitmap font at 100dpi is a 8pt font at
> 150dpi and a 6pt at 200dpi.

And at 6pt becomes too small to be used by people with average eyesight.

>> If you think there's nothing to maintain don't complain if
>> maintenance
>> is not done and things break in a few years. Fonts require
>> maintenance
>> just like every other part of the software stack.
>
> Looking at the git changelog for adobe-100dpi you're way overstating
> the number of changes.

I said the maintenance was lagging you say there is little maintenance
done. We basically agree.

-- 
Nicolas Mailhot