Re: Metafont <-- Re: An important article about computer typography

Hi!

"Nicholas Bodley" <nbodley@...> writes:

> On 16 Feb 2005 16:55:34 +0100, Henrik Theiling <theiling@...> wrote:
>
> > BTW, I did use Metafont for my earliest conlang Fukhian. I programmed
> > several font styles in one file. Very easy to select attached serifs,
> > etc. Some font samples are here:
> >
> > http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/compiled/hitchhiker.gif
> > http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/fuch.gif
> > http://www.theiling.de/conlang/s1/sample.gif
>
> I looked at those -- The glyphs are lovely, I think!

Thank you! :-)

> From the standpoint of a type designer, does Metafont offer an environment
> that has what type designers want and like, or is it a poor fit to the
> task?

Well, I can only say that I felt quite comfortable with it. Its all
non-graphical, but like programming, but the language was very
well-suited for what I wanted to do. It still takes a lot of time to
make a good font, but I never had the impression that the means was
awkward in any way.

> Nevertheless, the apparent scarcity of Metafonts might suggest that
> type designers are not flocking to use it to design fonts. Of
> course, that might simply be because a significant amount of effort
> is needed to learn it.

It was easy for me -- the Metafont book describes it nicely.

**Henrik