[cairo] Using Pango+Cairo to layout non-standard / international text

[robertk54 at aol.com]

>> Win32 is for a prototype.  Linux is the product.  I would prefer 
developing
>> using my working prototype and adding this feature.  I got the 
latest gtk
>> for Win32 and the cairo it comes with does not support freetype 
(pango does).
>> I asumed this would be the same for the Linux version.

>That's an incorrect assumption, then.

Good news.

>Most cairo builds that you will find will support the platform's
>"native" font system. For Linux, this is freetype. So the cairo and
>pango packages in almost any Linux distribution will have freetype
>support.

>For Microsoft Windows, most builds of cairo will *not* use freetype,
>as it's generally not desired, (instead, cairo-using applications for
>Windows generally want to access the native font system so that they
>have the same list of fonts available as other applications, etc.).

This would not be an issue for me due to the type of application.

>Personally, I'd recommend developing your Linux applications on Linux
>to avoid confusion. :-)

If I were more of a Linux person then I would probably agree to this.  
My prototype
is developed using DirectShow.  I use it to play a video and 
dynamically
add text and adjust settings.  The product is something which does much 
more
and does not have the ability to provide the instant feedback.  I have 
to run
a test, convert the files, transfer them and the view them.  Real 
annoying.

>It should technically be possible to build cairo+pango with freetype
>support on Microsoft Windows, but it's not something that's done
>frequently, meaning that you're unlikely to find pre-built packages
>for this, and you may run into some unique issues since you're doing
>something that's been tested much less than more conventional uses.

Yes, I agree it should be possible.  And if I had a few more months I
am sure I could do it.  I already built cairo without freetype support 
using
some msvc settings I found.  I was hoping to build more using the MINGW
or even a Linux cross-compiling setup.

>Does that make more sense now?

Absolutely, thanks.  Perhaps the person who did the Linux install for 
me
did not get the right version of the cairo library containing freetype 
support.

Bob