[Devel] FreeType 2.0.9 could not read the HKSCS-2001 MING_UNI.TTF font

[Anthony Fok]

Hello all,

FreeType 2.0.9 does not recognize the MING_UNI.TTF (a HKSCS-2001 referenc
font) as a TrueType font file.

The ITSD (Information Technology Services Department) of the HKSAR
Government has recently created a HKSCS-2001 Unicode font file called
MING_UNI.TTF as well as HKSCS-2001 Chinese input software for use
on Windows.  "Reference Fonts & Input Software", "ISO 10646 version
(for ISO 10646-compliant applications running on English or Chinese Windows
98/ME/NT4/2000).  It is available for download here:

        http://www.info.gov.hk/digital21/eng/hkscs/download.html

It is the 8.7MB "uime.exe" file, and it may be extracted on Linux by the
"unzip" command.  When trying to ftview the file:

        $ ftview 24 MING_UNI.TTF 
        could not find/open any font file
          error = 0x0002

[Sidenote: I just realized what I wrote below about "file" is irrelevant to
           the problem above, but it may be an interesting note.  :-) ]

Interestingly though, with Red Hat's file-3.37-2 package:

        $ file MING_UNI.TTF
        MING_UNI.TTF: raw G3 data, byte-padded

and on Debian woody (file-3.37-3.1):

        $ file MING_UNI.TTF
        MING_UNI.TTF: MS Windows TrueType font

Checking Debian's "file" source, Debian's "file" maintainer has apparently
added this to the magic file:

        0       belong          0x00010000      MS Windows TrueType font

... and then I realize that without Debian's patch, file-3.37 could not
recognize any TrueType font file at all, so it has nothing to do with the
problem with FreeType 2.0.9 and MING_UNI.TTF.  (Oops...)  :-)

Thanks in advance,

Anthony

-- 
Anthony Fok Tung-Ling
ThizLinux Laboratory   <address@hidden> http://www.thizlinux.com/
Debian Chinese Project <address@hidden>       http://www.debian.org/intl/zh/
Come visit Our Lady of Victory Camp!           http://www.olvc.ab.ca/