Case Studies in Building Megafonts
Joshua Hadley - Agfa Monotype Corporation
Intended Audience: |
Manager, Software Engineer, Marketer, Anyone interested in Fonts |
Session Level: |
Beginner, Intermediate |
Statement of Purpose
To examine several real-world large fonts ("megafonts"), offering insights into
definitions, concepts, development issues, and challenges associated with
creating such fonts.
Abstract
Fonts are an essential component of computing with Unicode, serving as the
graphical vehicle for script and language information. As the Unicode Standard
has evolved over the years, there has been greater industry demand for fonts
that contain the glyphs needed to display increasing portions of the Standard -
- in some cases, *every* defined Unicode character in a single font file!
There are several different ways to deliver fonts with a large number of
characters. One is the "all-in-one" approach, where all needed characters are
encoded in a single binary font file. Another is the "virtual font", in which a
set of several harmonized files are delivered, to be grouped into a single
logical entity by some external means.
Many difficulties exist in developing megafonts. In some cases, available font
technologies are limited; in others, the problem lies in organizing and
managing the staggering number of glyphs and related information. These
difficulties will only increase as the Unicode Standard is expanded.
By examining a number of actual fonts in use, I will investigate the current
state of megafont production, as well as what the future might hold.
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