Re: [Freefont-bugs] Freefont bug: Incorrect character for U+240E SYMBOL FOR SHIFT OUT

[Steve White]

Hi Ian,

Yes, a release.  It is my fault.

But  to make it will require a great deal of work, a month easily.
And despite having made many promises in the past, I still haven't
marshalled the time and energy.

I just need to get onto it.

As to your other issues: A lot of these messages depend on the version
of FontForge you're using to build the fonts.
Some of them impact the end product, most do not.
I just built it with my distro (mint) version
fontforge 11:21 UTC 24-Sep-2017
libfontforge 20170924
Most of the messages you mentioned don't show up.

The thing about 1000 vs 1024 pre-dates my association with the
project.  It is not easiy and neatly fixable.  So far as I know,
modern font renderers just don't care about that.

Let me know if you see any problems in the new builds!

On Sat, Sep 7, 2019 at 6:18 PM ropers <address@hidden> wrote:
>
> Oops, sorry, I hadn't seen the "cloudy" link you had sent off-list.
> I've seen it now.  This certainly instantly fixes my own issue, but
> maybe a public release could help more people?  I'd love to have
> something I could point people to or that I could tell people to do.
> I'm also trying to write a little program and I might want to mention
> the U+240E thing as something I stumbled upon along the way, and it
> would be great to have a solution ready if and when I get to that
> point.
>
> For avoidance of doubt: I understand you didn't want me to share the
> "cloudy" link, but presumably redistributing those files under the
> terms of the GPL is fine?
>
> Thank you ever so much!
>
> Ian
>
> On 07/09/2019, ropers <address@hidden> wrote:
> > Hi Steve --do you prefer Steve or Stevan, as per your email?--,
> >
> > Thanks for getting back to me on that. :)
> >
> > Do you have that link you mentioned, to a recent build?
> >
> > I couldn't find a more recent release than 2012-05-03, but then I
> > understand a build isn't necessarily the same thing as a release.
> >
> > I did find e.g. a FreeSans.sdf file in Subversion
> > <http://svn.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/freefont/trunk/freefont/sfd/FreeSans.sfd?view=log>,
> > but I haven't really researched how to convert this to ttf. (Any quick
> > hints on that?*)
> >
> > I have found a FreeSans.ttf file in CVS
> > <http://web.cvs.savannah.gnu.org/viewvc/freefont/freefont/tt/full/FreeSans.ttf?view=log>,
> > but this is again from 2012. (I did see the note about the CVS->SVN
> > switchover <http://savannah.gnu.org/forum/forum.php?forum_id=6942>.)
> >
> > Will there be another release?
> >
> > If not, do you have any howtos/instructions that might suit ordinary
> > users wishing to update their Freefont to the latests and greatest (on
> > Unix-likes, e.g. Ubuntu, OpenBSD, etc.)?
> > I have read INSTALL, which mentions a freefont-ttf.tar.gz, which I
> > haven't however been able to find for anything more recent than 2012.
> >
> > I also suspect that even if I'm able to "roll my own" from what is
> > there, probably many distros etc. won't update to the latest and
> > greatest unless there's another release.
> >
> > Thanks for your time.
> >
> > Thanks and regards,
> > Ian
> >
> > (Ian Ropers)
> >
> > *footnote:
> > Apparently there are online sdf to ttf converters, but I'm not sure if
> > their use complies with both the GPL and their T&Cs. (Beware the
> > cloud.)
> >   I've also tried  manual conversion by opening sdf files in (the to
> > me somewhat alien) FontForge and then generating a ttf from there,
> > but:
> > a) I'm not sure if I should worry about the warning saying the Em-Size
> > 1000 isn't a power of two (should it be 1024?),
> > b) even after ignoring that warning, I still got a lengthy list of errors,
> > and
> > c) even when unchecking the Validation box, I still got an error about
> > Bengali that I didn't understand.
> > So while I can kinda, sorta create a FreeSans.ttf with the correct
> > U+240E glyph, I really have no idea what I'm doing, and if the font
> > I'm generating isn't worse than the old one in a hundred places, the
> > latter's incorrect U+240E glyph notwithstanding. So rolling my own is
> > probably not the best option for me or most people; grabbing a release
> > would be a gazillion times easier. Of course releases don't grow on
> > trees either, and I know that, so please don't misconstrue this as
> > whining and making demands; let's just file this under "user
> > experience feedback", and you do you, no pressure. ;)
> >
> > On 04/09/2019, Steve White <address@hidden> wrote:
> >> Hi Ian,
> >>
> >> This problem isn't present in recent builds.  I'll send you a link.
> >>
> >> Don't hesitate to file a bug report (preferably at
> >> https://savannah.gnu.org/bugs/?group=freefont) if you see any further
> >> issues!
> >>
> >> Thanks!
> >>
> >> On Sun, Sep 1, 2019 at 3:01 AM ropers <address@hidden> wrote:
> >>>
> >>> Hello GNU/Stevan :),
> >>>
> >>> I think I have found a bug in GNU FreeFont, or specifically in the
> >>> FreeMono, FreeSans and FreeSerif fonts:
> >>> The character for U+240E SYMBOL FOR SHIFT OUT appears to be incorrect in
> >>> those.
> >>>
> >>> The two small constituent letters you define for that character are SS
> >>> (two esses).
> >>> The correct letters should be SO (ess-oh). Compare
> >>> <https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2400.pdf>.
> >>>
> >>> While it's true that the actual C0 control codes[1] remain unprintable
> >>> in Unicode, getting this right is nonetheless somewhat fundamental,
> >>> since these Control Pictures[2] are supposed to be printable direct
> >>> equivalents to the corresponding unprintable standard ASCII
> >>> characters. So for applications where unprintable ASCII characters
> >>> need to be printed, this is a very basic part of the ASCII character
> >>> set that your fonts are currently getting wrong.
> >>>
> >>> I am sadly not sufficiently familiar with the somewhat less modern and
> >>> quirky FontForge UI to be able to fix this myself in a hurry,
> >>> otherwise I would have offered a fix and not just a bug report. In
> >>> theory copying and pasting the little O from U+2401 SYMBOL FOR START
> >>> OF HEADING to U+240E SYMBOL FOR SHIFT OUT could be enough; actually I
> >>> did manage to do that, but I couldn't get things aligned correctly and
> >>> I am not enough of a typographer to even know what the correct
> >>> alignment would be, so I should probably leave that to someone who
> >>> knows what they're doing, so over to you it is.
> >>>
> >>> Related info:
> >>> [1] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C0_and_C1_control_codes>
> >>> [2] <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Control_Pictures>
> >>> <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shift_Out_and_Shift_In_characters>
> >>>
> >>> Thanks for your attention to this.
> >>>
> >>> Thanks and regards,
> >>> Ian
> >>>
> >>> (Ian Ropers)
> >>
> >