[HarfBuzz] New Indic standard?

[Behdad Esfahbod]

On 08/21/2009 11:18 AM, Ed Trager wrote:

> But at this juncture, I'll just ask the questions first.  Compiling
> the INPUT data is straight-forward and I have no questions about that
> -- although it still may take some time to achieve a suitable degree
> of comprehensiveness.

The comprehensive input database is actually all I need.  Bonus marks for 
graphic of the correct rendering at least.


> However obtaining the OUTPUT data will require processing through some
> program.  A fairly simple command-line utility linked to a shaping
> engine is, in theory, all that is required.
>
> But my first question is: What shaping engine do we consider as the
> "Gold Standard" for correct processing for Indic scripts?  In other
> words, if I or someone else sits down to write such a utility program,
> should said program use Graphite, ATSUI / AAT , or Uniscribe as the
> "Gold Standard" shaping engine?

Uniscribe is the standard for OpenType implementations by definition.


> If the answer is "Uniscribe", then must one use the latest version of
> Uniscribe in Vista or Windows 7 ? Would Windows 7 be better just
> because Vista as an OS is such a dog?

For pre-Vista Indic OT fonts, well, XP does the job too.  For post-Vista, 
Vista or 7 should do.


> My personal bias, for several reasons, would be to just use Graphite.
> Would anyone recommend or object to the idea of writing such a utility
> using Graphite?

That makes little sense.  It's comparing apples and oranges.  We can only test 
our Indic OT implementation against another Indic OT implementation.  Unless 
we have a font that 1) we know correctly implements Indic OT, 2) it also has 
Graphite tables, and 3) the OT and Graphite tables produce equal output (glyph 
for glyph).  I don't think such a font exists.

> And of course if such a utility, or something close to it, already
> exists, then where can I get the code?

Pango of course.  I've wanted to add that capability to pango-view for a 
while.  It's super obvious to do that.  I can do that in a few weeks if you 
gather the data.

behdad

> - Ed
>
>> behdad