[OS X TeX] A question about Metafont

[André Bellaïche]

Le 6 oct. 07 à 21:03, Peter Dyballa a écrit :

>
> Am 06.10.2007 um 20:00 schrieb André Bellaïche:
>
>> Why did the makers of programs like pdftex, pdflatex (and previous  
>> programs based on ps instead of pdf) choose to use Metafont  
>> instead of Postscript ?
>
> They did not. They are using the New Font Selection Scheme v. 2  
> (NFSS2). And as dvips or dvipdfm they use a MAP file which maps a  
> TeX font name to a PostScript font file and its particular  
> encoding. The MAP files for all three are maintained from the  
> updmap or updmap-sys scripts.
>
Yes, of course.

Did you ever try to install by yourself a new Postscript font into  
TeXLive or gwtex ? With the help of manuals by several people, and  
the personal help of Bruno Voisin on this list, it takes two days of  
work. And most TeX users are not able of such an achievement.

Moreover, it seems that when you use these font for the first time,  
the system make some Metafont translations of the Postscript font, in  
several different magnifications.

This is not exactly what one could legitimately call "Postscript  
based typesetting'.

So, what I meant was : "What did they stick to Metafont ?".

A.B.



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>   Pete
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