[Devel] autohinter suggestions

[David Chester]

On my website, I have made some suggestions with explanations, examples, and 
patches for improvement to the autohinter.  Here's a brief summary of the 
changes I propose.

* Outlines are scaled before edge hinting so that edges corresponding to 
AH_BLUE_SMALL_TOP are already lying on a pixel boundary (this helps to 
minimize shape distortion);

* A new algorithm for stem alignment when stem widths are less than 1.5 pixels 
wide centers the stem slightly off-center of the center of a pixel (this 
increases sharpness and consistency);

* There's a new hinting target which disables the snapping and alignment of 
vertical stems, and serif widths are left alone completely;

* There's a new blue zone for the tops of letters like i,j,k,l,b,d, etc.

Again, my website has more explanation, examples and patches.  It's at:
http://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~dchest/xfthack

I would be interested in peoples' thoughts and criticisms.

David Chester