Re: [ft-devel] The criterion for comparing SVG Rendering libraries

[armin]

>> 3. *How much work to do make it work with FreeType*: Does it need a
>>    C API wrapper?
>
> Yes.

This is really the main criterium IMO;  as discussed two days ago, as long as 
the library is shipped as a prebuilt code blob for most Linux distros, that's 
perfect and no one needs to care about its source code.  Even better would 
obviously be libraries that come packaged for / are distributed by the top X 
[insert random number here] Linux distros out there as you don't even have to 
bother with dependencies.  Not necessarily the best source but just something I 
could come up quickly: 
https://www.fossmint.com/best-linux-distros-for-laptops-in-2019/  ... maybe 
someone has better and more credible sources.

I think, this is the most important feature of a library to even be considered 
here:

(1) Proper C interface that is well maintained.  Some libraries offer, say, a 
C++ interface first and the C interface is maintained by volunteers which are 
not directly related to the project.  If that can be avoided it's probably a 
good idea as those half-hearted C interface ports may fall back one day, even 
if the library itself stays well-maintained.

(2) Packaged for / distributed by top X (10/20 minimum?) Linux distros and ... 
maybe ... even pre-installed on some of them like Ubuntu or such.  `Top' has to 
be defined, obviously, like `most used', `most talked about' or such.

>> 5. *Testing: *Is the library well tested?  Is there a need for
>>    aggressively testing SVG glyph renderings from our side?
>
> `Aggressively testing' on the FreeType side will be done with the fuzzer, more
> or less.[*] On the other hand, it is always nice to have an extensive test
> suite.

Whoop, whoop, I cannot wait to get my hands on it :D

> [*] The fuzzer has the tendency to find issues in other libraries
>     also.  For example, the current setup (for Chromium's ClusterFuzz
>     incarnation) links with `libarchive', and I remember to have seen
>     about 10 bugs related to it that the fuzzer reported over the last
>     year.

Can confirm ;)

Best
Armin