[Fontconfig] Some things should not be configured through files like fonts.conf

[Akira TAGOH]

On Mon, Apr 7, 2014 at 5:18 PM, Wolfgang Draxinger
<wdraxinger.maillist at draxit.de> wrote:
> Instead retrieve the settings from a runtime variable. I'd suggest
> something managed by the display system, i.e. a root window property or
> similar. This detaches mechanism (font rasterization configuration)
> from policy (setting store / runtime determination).

That sounds like same to what GNOME and other desktops do though (just
wonder why you don't suggest it to your lightweight window manager or
desktop environment but anyway) there are some concerns in that idea
to do in fontconfig itself:

1. we don't want to make X dependency in fontconfig because it's not
necessarily required in other platforms.
2. is there any database contains sub-pixel layout information? who
manages? similar question to other platforms too.
3. even if it's going to live, how does it help for the preference
issue as you mentioned RGB v.s. grayscale?

This is a bit ugly workaround but somewhat realistic to me, you could
have a separate configuration files named fonts-${HOST}.conf and set
it to FONTCONFIG_FILE in your startup script in your shell.

-- 
Akira TAGOH