Bug#954553: nautilus: FTBFS: unsatisfiable build-dependency: libpango1.0-dev (>= 1.44) but 1.42.4-8 is to be installed

[Simon McVittie]

On Sun, 22 Mar 2020 at 08:38:21 +0100, Lucas Nussbaum wrote:
> > The following packages have unmet dependencies:
> >  sbuild-build-depends-main-dummy : Depends: libpango1.0-dev (>= 1.44) but 1.42.4-8 is to be installed

I see two possible routes forward:

- upload Pango 1.44.x to unstable now
  - gtk+3.0 needs some reftests disabling (Ubuntu already has a patch)
    due to https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/pango/issues/438 (#946896)
  - fans of 1980s font technology will be upset by #939748

- re-upload Nautilus 3.34.x to unstable versioned 3.36.0+really3.34.1,
  and try again for 3.36.x later, after Pango 1.44.x has gone to unstable

Thoughts?

I suspect the first option is likely to be the only one that makes sense:
the second option is just the first option at an unspecified future
date. I don't think holding back Pango to version 1.42.x, or patching back
in support for XLFD fonts, is a realistic route to take in the long term.

Someone who understands the finer points of font rendering will have to
write a diplomatic response to #939748, but I suspect from the tone of the
bug report that the bug submitter, and other users of Pango-but-not-GNOME,
are going to hate us whatever we do.

The bug submitter has a point - it *is* a regression - but my
understanding is that properly-hinted truetype/opentype fonts can
be just as pixel-perfect as traditional bitmapped fonts (indeed,
https://github.com/koron/bdf2ttf exists, and the Description of
xfonts-utils says it contains "a program to wrap bitmap fonts in a sfnt
(TrueType) wrapper"). However, I am not a font expert, so someone who
knows this stuff better should fact-check anything I say.

Do we have contacts in the fonts team who know about making bitmap fonts
available in a truetype/opentype wrapper?

    smcv