At 08:57 AM 2/10/2003, Peter_Constable@... wrote:

> >PostScript also defines outlines, afaik, and its counterpart to
> >hinting is apparently easier to do, iirc requiring less skill to
> >define the counterpart to hints (indeed, if any are required at
> >all!),
>
>Hinting is difficult to do, whether you're working with Postscript or
>TrueType.

Manual Postscript hinting can be time consuming, depending on the nature of
the design, but it is a straightforward procedure that doesn't require much
discretionary decision making: there is a correct place to put the hints
and a correct way to put them there, and the rasteriser will interpret the
hints appropriately. TrueType hinting is much more time consuming and much
more difficult. Actually, the term 'hinting' is a bit of a misnomer for
TrueType. In Postscript, one is indeed providing hints, i.e. suggestions,
to the rasteriser; however, in TrueType one is *instructing* the
rasteriser, telling it fairly precisely what to do at specific type sizes
and resolutions.

John Hudson

Tiro Typeworks www.tiro.com
Vancouver, BC tiro@...

A book is a visitor whose visits may be rare,
or frequent, or so continual that it haunts you
like your shadow and becomes a part of you.
- al-Jahiz, The Book of Animals