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diff --git a/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/6_4/malcs.tex b/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/6_4/malcs.tex new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..cdf03c4b15 --- /dev/null +++ b/usergrps/uktug/baskervi/6_4/malcs.tex @@ -0,0 +1,86 @@ +\let\Tub\TUB + +\title{Malcolm's Gleanings} +\author{Malcolm Clark} +\begin{Article} + +\subsection{Ligature trivia} + +In the \Tub \textbf{17}(2), Haralambous and Plaice, taking a slight diversion + present a whole galaxy of glyphs which could find a role in their +$\Omega$ system. In passing it is intriguing to read the following article by +Richard Kinch and speculate on the rivalries which must underlie +that contribution. One of +Haralambous and Plaice's offerings are the ``french ligatures for st and ct''. +I was a little startled, since I hadn't realised that these \emph{were French}. I'd +seen them in books from 1800 in English, and, although I've since not been able to +confirm it, I think that Eric Gill's Joanna had them too. + +By an amazing coincidence, the topic of these ligatures cropped up on the +\texttt{typo-l} discussion list and this stimulated me to pursue a little research, +from which I concluded that Sweynheym +\& Pannartz' cut roman typeface in about 1467 which had the ct, and a long-st +ligature. I'll ignore the gothic faces which had as many ligatures as scribes +were used to using in hand lettering. Sweynheym \& Pannartz were German and +worked in Italy. Like good type design, it's all in the +details. + +\subsection{\Tub} + +I usually manage to make some veiled comment about the timliness of \Tub, but +this time I am pleased to direct your attention to a \Tub\ Web page. Try out: +\url{http://www.halcyon.com/clcook/tugclndr.htm} + +\subsection{The classic fonts} + +Another discussion on the \texttt{typo-l} list involved the origin of the +`classic' fonts which were found on the first Adobe \ie\ \PS\ laser printers. +(Note I am using `classic' in the same sense that a Citro\"en 2CV might be +described as `classic'\Dash dangerous firetrap thought it undoubtedly was.) +Andrew Boag pointed out that the IBM~4250 600dpi electro-erosion printer shown +at DRUPA in 1982 had Monotype hand-edited bitmap fonts which included +Courier, Helvetica (sub-licenced from Linotype), Palatino and Times NR. + +David Lemon added that the basic LaserWriter fonts were selected in +discussions between Adobe and Apple. A representative from the Adobe Type group +tried to keep it `reasonable', but , Steve Jobs +had to be talked out of including ITC Gorilla, and ITC American Typewriter +almost became the ``typewriter'' design, until Adobe pointed out +that it is not monospaced. When the other fonts were added some time later, +Jobs had his revenge in the form of ITC Avant Garde. Still, he was and may +still be one of the most gifted computer designers of the last 20 years: he +gets to screw up in chosing fonts. + +\subsection{Slip between cup and lip} +A while back I wrote about the proposed math handling of HTML. When the +standard was published, the maths had disappeared. Nevertheless, Dave Raggett +does describe some of the markup and the hopes in his book \textsl{HTML3, electronic +publishing on the World Wide Web}, Dave Raggett, Jenny Lam \& Ian Alexander, Addison-Wesley. +I enjoyed the book's informal style, though I wouldn't wish to be seen in +socks like those. + +\subsection{\TeX\ lauded at Seybold} +I exaggerate slightly. Conrad Taylor, writing for the Seybold Report on +Publishing Systems \textsl{What has wysiwyg done for us?}, suggests that ``most +of the H \&~J (hyphenation and justification) algorithms in desktop publishing +programs are lamentable, particularly when compared with \TeX''. We knew that, +but a small accolade to that man. + +\subsection{TB-L} +Tim Berners-Lee, creator of the World Wide Web, was recently made a +Distinguished Fellow of the British Computer Society. I was +surprised that he is \textbf{not} seven feet tall. + +After his presentation Tim gave a talk on ``The World Wide +Web\Dash Past, Present and Future''. A transcript of the presentation is +available as \url{http://www.bcs.org.uk/news/timbl.htm} + +I was able to ask TB-L a little about the incorporation of HTML +into the Web. I asked why he chose this way of expressing content (rather +hoping he would endorse the wisdom of separating form and content), but +apparently it was much more simple than that. People at Cern were accustomed +to those little angle brackets, so he gave them something with +which they were familiar, +and which was simple. Thank goodness Cern wasn't using Wordperfect! + +\end{Article} |