Re: Why dose art not use fontconfig?

[Isaiah Beerbower]

On 8/16/07, Fred Kiefer <fredkiefer@gmx.de> wrote:
> Isaiah Beerbower wrote:
> > Hello all,
> >
> > Just a quick question about the art back end: For what reason dose it
> > not use fontconfig?
> >
> > Thanks,
> > Isaiah Beerbower
> >
>
> The real reason for that choice could only be given by Alexander
> Malmberg, who implemented the art backend.
> I may be able to offer you a few hints, but none of it may be the true
> reason.
> Using the nfont concept offers some benefits over fontconfig. It allows
> us to assign a Postscript name to a font, which is then used for
> printing. All the other GNUstep backends need to guess a name here. The
> nfont file FontInfo.plist allows you also to change the name of the font
> of the type face to something more readable and to specify information
> missing or wrong in the actual font data. In addition this concept
> allows you to limit the available fonts for GNustep.
>
> Overall I think this is not worth it, this is why I use fontconfig for
> the xlib and the cairo backend, still I can understand when people take
> a different point of view. If there is a demand for it, I could add
> fontconfig for art as well as a compile time option.
>

I agree. While these arguments against using fontconfig are valid, the
mere annoyance of having to create a bundle for each font you want,
and not being able to keep all your fonts in one place, out weighs
them in my mind.

In short, I think it would be a good idea if the art back end could
use fontconfig.

Thanks,
Isaiah Beerbower

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