pallas@Neon.Stanford.EDU (Joe Pallas) (01/17/90)
Have any of you so-called PostScript wizards actually read the manual
before you started flaming? Adobe does not claim that there are 72
points to an inch:
The length of a unit along the x axis and along the y axis is 1/72 of
an inch. We call this coordinate system {\em default user space}.
These features of default user space are chosen for their mathematical
simplicity and convenience. The unit size, 1/72 of an inch, is very
close to the size of a printer's point (1/72.27 inch), which is a
standard measuring unit used in the printing industry.
---PostScript Language Reference Manual (aka The Red Book), p. 61.
Now, just because a bunch of dimwits have written brain-damaged
applications that presume the default unit is a point doesn't mean
that Adobe is confused about the matter.
On the other hand, the fact is that the LaserWriter's default
idle-time font scan conversion generates fonts at 9.96264, 11.955168,
and 13.947696 points, which are pretty useless UNLESS you're using one
of those brain-damaged applications. And the LaserWriter appendix,
which is not part of the language specification, does slip up and
claim that those sizes are 10, 12, and 14 points.
joe