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On 09/26/2011 06:13 PM, Nilesh Govindarajan wrote: |
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> Somebody on twitter told me that Ubuntu uses a special patch for |
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> freetype that improves font rendering manifolds. |
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> |
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> So I rebuilt freetype with these useflags: +auto-hinter +bindist |
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When you emerge freetype, it tells you at the end that the bindist USE |
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flag does not longer control the auto-hinter. |
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Also, as another poster mentioned, this is no longer an issue. The |
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patent expired so the auto-hinter is no longer required. |
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> What is the difference between this unpatented auto hinter and the |
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> TrueType BC interpreter? |
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The main difference is that the auto-hinter doesn't take into account |
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the font's hinting instructions, resulting in non-optimal hinting. In |
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short: don't use it. |
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For best looking fonts, disable both the "auto-hinter" and "bindist" USE |
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flags. The bindist USE flag controls the subpixel-rendering algorithm, |
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which is still patented by Microsoft in the USA. |
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So for best results (which is what Ubuntu uses), you need the BC |
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interpreter (you get that by disabling the "auto-hinter" flag) and the |
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subpixel renderer (by disabling the "bindist" flag). |
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