On Fri, Jun 13, 2003 at 02:02:37PM +0300, Anton Zinoviev wrote:
> Type1 fonts can be usable without X.  One example is a print server
> which uses ghostscript.  Defoma provides ghostscript with fonts.
> Another example can be TeX.  The font packages only provide fonts and
> they should not depend on particular font consumers.  If some software
> wants to use fonts it has to get them from Defoma (as ghostscript) or
> directly (as X and fontconfig).  Otherwise the font packages would
> have to depend on all font consumers that don't support Defoma.

I think Type1 font packages should assume they're going to be used both
for printing and by X clients, but should not fail to configure if the
commands that "register" them with the relevant pieces of infrastructure
are not available.

> > Your proposal would undermine that.  Font packages could be installed
> > but not usable,
> 
> They are usable by all software that wants to use them.

Only if the software knows where they are, and appropriate
files/registries have been updated.

> For a font package to be in a usable, configured state, one thing is
> enough: its postinst to register the fonts with Defoma.

I am unhappy with defoma.  Hopefully its new maintainer will work with
me / persuade me to see whatever light I'm supposed to be seeing.

> It is not important, it is only desirable.  xbase-clients (with their
> xftcache) and fontconfig are not much different to xutils with respect
> to the font packages.  Hopefully the maintainer of fontconfig is
> willing to add support for Defoma, so there will be no need to depend
> on fontconfig also.
> 
> It is also possible to add in xutils (or in some other X package) a
> support for Defoma, but what I propose is a simpler solution.

Well, xbase-clients is about to get busted into a bunch of pieces, and
in 4.3.0 probably will not even ship xftcache.  xutils will probably
continue to ship utilities that manage X font directories, though.

Juliusz Chroboczek has done some work on X's font-cataloging tools
recently in the X Strike Force Subversion repository.

-- 
G. Branden Robinson                |     It just seems to me that you are
Debian GNU/Linux                   |     willfully entering an arse-kicking
[EMAIL PROTECTED]                 |     contest with a monstrous entity
http://people.debian.org/~branden/ |     that has sixteen legs and no arse.

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