[Pkg-fonts-devel] Bug#968936: fonts-inter: please package variable fonts

[Gürkan Myczko]

Hi Jonas

as talked on irc #debian-fonts, here's a short summary

14:38 < tarzeau> jonas: thanks for #968936
14:40 < tarzeau> jonas: fontmake has -o variable i can try
14:44 < tarzeau> it even works :) (as in builds Inter-VF.ttf)
14:44 < tarzeau> 5 mb vs 0.8 mb
14:46 < tarzeau> a short apt-cache search doesn't find any ^fonts |grep
var (as in variable) though
14:50 < tarzeau> i was only able to find browsers support variable
fonts, but no idea about gtk, qt, gnustep font dialogs...
14:51 < tarzeau> i fear adding the vf font to the system, fonts will
show up double in font dialogs causing irritations (jonas?)
14:55 < jonas> tarzeau: there is a very efficient way to figure it out:
install both and check in various applications :-)
14:55 < jonas> s/efficient/effective/
14:56 < tarzeau> true :) but doesn't answer the rest of my questions
14:56 < jonas> ...efficient would be that the build system magically
spit out an "this build will work flawlessly - promise!" :-)
14:57 < jonas> true - I admit that I failed to answer all your posts in
a single post
14:57 < jonas> that is a common flaw of mine: I talk about one thing at
a time :-P
14:58 < tarzeau> so the word processor or inkscape or whatever software
would also need a way to store not just the fontname, but it's metrics
(no idea if that's the case with textedit/rtf, libreoffice/od*...)
15:04 < jonas> tarzeau: please beware that the issue is in the issue
tracker - it has priority over conversations here, so please make sure
to replicate relevant points made here in the bug when you choose to
discuss here
               instead of directly in that bug
15:06 < jonas> maybe VF fonts only work in web browsers - I don't see
that as a blocker for my request to have it packaged
15:06 < jonas> what would be a blocker was if other applications explode
when VF fonts are introduced to the system
15:10 < tarzeau> jonas: +1
15:37 < tarzeau> jonas: i can test tomorrow, if someone has no patience
it's here: http://phd-sid.ethz.ch/debian/fonts-inter/
15:41 < tarzeau> rebuilding (dropping d/compat)

08:54 < tarzeau> jonas: https://mentors.debian.net/package/fonts-inter/
08:57 < tarzeau> gnome shows the fonts double (sorted strange), tested
with gedit
09:02 < tarzeau> likewise with gnustep, couldn't find a qt app to check
09:03 < tarzeau> both font packages could conflict with each other?
09:03 < tarzeau> but then one user uses font variable, saves document,
sends over to other guy who uses other font, and the document is all
messed up
09:31 < jonas> I propose to ship both in same package, outside of
/usr/share/fonts, and add a postinst script to register the non-variable
font with the alternatives system at the old path inside /usr/share/fonts
09:32 < jonas> that way a) users can choose to switch to the variable
font, and b) both users and packages can use the outside path for web apps
09:32  * jonas still dislike discussing this here - would prefer to
discuss bugs in the bugtracker!
09:40 < tarzeau> for the alternatives system, i'm not a fan of it
especially not for fonts, i'd rather have users use fontmatrix to
activate/disable fonts
09:41 < tarzeau> feel free to post a summary on the bts (i consider what
i wrote here public)
09:42 < tarzeau> it'd probably be helpful if all font packages would
agree on a fontnaming scheeme so it makes font management easier, the
default inter vf build got called Inter-VF.ttf
09:42 < tarzeau> the package is fonts-inter-variable for now, you say
put both into the same binary package... outside ugh headaches
09:50  * jonas will refrain from discussing further here, since (as
suspected) there is no intent on mirroring it to bugreport!
10:20 < tarzeau> i'll copy paste together the stuff and post it there as
is (unless you have objections) (only jonas/tarzeau parts that are relevant