Re: [ft-devel] Which modules to use

[Werner LEMBERG]

> As far as I can see, INSTALL.ANY doesn't say how to omit modules,
> except simply not compiling them.  I remember that there was an
> extra step--has that requirement been removed?

Ah, yes.  You actually have to delete the module subdirectories you
don't want to use, because GNU make loads all modules with the help of
wildcards.[*] I'll add that, thanks for the pointer.  In case you do a
`flat' compilation, i.e., you copy everything into a single directory,
INSTALL.ANY is correct.

[*] Actually, it should be sufficient to rename the *.mk files in
those subdirectories.

> Is there a list of descriptions of each of the modules?

I thought that the descriptions in INSTALL.ANY are sufficient.  What
are you missing?

> Is this module required for OpenType OTF files?:
>       src/cff/cff.c           -- CFF/OpenType font driver

Yes.

> what about:
>       src/otvalid/otvalid.c   -- OpenType table validation

Not needed, except you want to handle GSUB, GPOS, etc. by yourself, or
another (not yet written) library needs it.

> What does this one do, i.e. what'll happen if it's left out?
>       src/autofit/autofit.c   -- auto hinting module

A good question.  If the font is a CFF, and you don't have the
pshinter module, no hinting should occur.  If the font is TrueType,
hinting should be enabled depending on the
TT_CONFIG_OPTION_BYTECODE_INTERPRETER variable.

I've actually never tried to compile FreeType without a hinting
module.  Theoretically, it should work, and you get unhinted glyphs as
a result.  Please try out and report :-)

> BTW, given the phrase "once the definitive 2.0 release of FreeType
> has been made", I suspect this FAQ entry is rather out-of-date:

Well, indeed, the file ft2faq.html hasn't been touched for a longer
time.  Volunteers to update it are highly welcome.

> IV.6 When will FreeType 2 support OpenType?

This is still valid, and it will remain so.


    Werner