[forum] FontConfig feature request

[James Richard Tyrer]

IIUC, this is the place to drop in your $0.02 about features for 
future XFree86 implementations.

I hope that I understand correctly that the purpose of FontConfig 
is so that developers can stop reinventing the wheel.

As I understand KP's brief dox, it is possible to retrieve the 
name and location of the font file through calls to FontConfig. 
This is needed.  So, If I didn't understand correctly, this is a 
needed feature.

Other features might be needed to integrate with 
PostScript/GhostScript.

The PostScript drivers in programs that print using fonts need to 
have the PostScript font name.  I understand that this *can* be 
added to the: fonts-cache-1 files since values have names. 
Unless other features make this redundant, I suggest that: 
"psname" be added as a font property and to the list of named 
values in the: "fonts.cache-1" file.  And that it can be obtained 
with a call to FontConfig.

GhostScript works best if the font directories have a Fontmap 
file and the directories are added to the: GS_LIB path. 
Currently, I use scripts that I have written/copied/hacked that 
require the ttf2pt1 package for TrueType.  This is very slow for 
TrueType.

Since the FontConfig package provides: mkfontdir & mkfontscale 
commands, it also needs a: mkfontmap command.

I don't know if it would be a good thing if: fc-cache also added 
entries as needed to the GS_LIB path.  This is complicated by the 
fact that it is *not* necessary to add a directory if it is 
already on the GS_LIB_DEFAULT path which is compiled in.  But, 
"gs -h" provides the complete search path which fc-cache could 
use to see if any of the directories which contain a Fontmap need 
to be added to: GS_LIB.  Clearly, this is a low priority issue.

There may be other support issues for PostScript/GhostScript 
including those necessary to produce Type 42 fonts from TrueType 
fonts.

--
JRT