josef@ugun21.UUCP (03/10/89)
I am currently trying to find my way through ditroff's database but am hopelessly stuck! Can somebody tell me the exact structure of the DESC.out and XX.out files (XX=R,I,B,H,S,...)? What I am most interested in is the question: Given a troff special character like \(dg, how does ditroff figure out where to find the information on how to print the dagger? I.e. what is the path ditroff (and it's post-processors dxxxx) follows from \(dg to e.g. the bitmap for a dagger in file S.out. Josef Moellers paper mail: e-mail: c/o Nixdorf Computer AG USA: uunet!linus!nixbur!mollers.pad Abt. EG-3 !USA: mcvax!unido!nixpbe!mollers.pad Unterer Frankfurter Weg D-4790 Paderborn tel.: (+49) 5251 104691 Standard disclaimer: Blablabla opinion blablabla employer blablabla!
rick@pcrat.UUCP (Rick Richardson) (03/12/89)
In article <5800007@ugun21> josef@ugun21.UUCP writes: >Can somebody tell me the exact structure of the DESC.out and XX.out >files (XX=R,I,B,H,S,...)? Look in the font(5) manual page. >What I am most interested in is the question: > > Given a troff special character like \(dg, how does ditroff > figure out where to find the information on how to print the dagger? > I.e. what is the path ditroff (and it's post-processors dxxxx) follows > from \(dg to e.g. the bitmap for a dagger in file S.out. The *.out files don't have character bitmaps in them. They simply tell troff which characters and special characters exist in the typeface, how wide they are at a specific size (usually 10 pt), and what code to output to the postprocessor. It is up to the postprocessor to do whatever is necessary to get the glyph numbered 'code' to print on the printer. This may or may not involve bitmaps, depending on the printer. The postprocessor can store the bitmaps, outlines, or whatever in any format it desires. BTW, in my opinion, the *.out files are troff's weakest link as far as 'keeping up with the Jones' goes. They do not allow non-linearly scaled typefaces, have no height info, and have no kerning info. Furthermore, they place a ridiculously low limit upon the number of glyphs in a typeface. You can fix the language with a preprocessor, but you can't easily teach troff about typefaces that don't fit troff's model. -Rick -- Rick Richardson | JetRoff "di"-troff to LaserJet Postprocessor|uunet!pcrat!dry2 PC Research,Inc.| Mail: uunet!pcrat!jetroff; For anon uucp do:|for Dhrystone 2 uunet!pcrat!rick| uucp jetroff!~jetuucp/file_list ~nuucp/. |submission forms. jetroff Wk2200-0300,Sa,Su ACU {2400,PEP} 12013898963 "" \d\r\d ogin: jetuucp