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FreeType » Docs » Support API » Module Management

# Module Management

## Synopsis

The definitions below are used to manage modules within FreeType. Modules can be added, upgraded, and removed at runtime. Additionally, some module properties can be controlled also.

Here is a list of possible values of the `module_name` field in the `FT_Module_Class` structure.

      autofitter
      bdf
      cff
      gxvalid
      otvalid
      pcf
      pfr
      psaux
      pshinter
      psnames
      raster1
      sfnt
      smooth
      truetype
      type1
      type42
      t1cid
      winfonts

Note that the FreeType Cache sub-system is not a FreeType module.

## FT_Module

Defined in FT_FREETYPE_H (freetype/freetype.h).

      typedef struct FT_ModuleRec_*  FT_Module;

A handle to a given FreeType module object. A module can be a font driver, a renderer, or anything else that provides services to the former.

## FT_Module_Constructor

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      typedef FT_Error
      (*FT_Module_Constructor)( FT_Module  module );

A function used to initialize (not create) a new module object.

#### input

module | The module to initialize.

## FT_Module_Destructor

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      typedef void
      (*FT_Module_Destructor)( FT_Module  module );

A function used to finalize (not destroy) a given module object.

#### input

module | The module to finalize.

## FT_Module_Requester

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      typedef FT_Module_Interface
      (*FT_Module_Requester)( FT_Module    module,
                              const char*  name );

A function used to query a given module for a specific interface.

#### input

module | The module to be searched.
name | The name of the interface in the module.

## FT_Module_Class

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      typedef struct  FT_Module_Class_
      {
        FT_ULong               module_flags;
        FT_Long                module_size;
        const FT_String*       module_name;
        FT_Fixed               module_version;
        FT_Fixed               module_requires;

        const void*            module_interface;

        FT_Module_Constructor  module_init;
        FT_Module_Destructor   module_done;
        FT_Module_Requester    get_interface;

      } FT_Module_Class;

The module class descriptor. While being a public structure necessary for FreeType's module bookkeeping, most of the fields are essentially internal, not to be used directly by an application.

#### fields

module_flags | Bit flags describing the module.
module_size | The size of one module object/instance in bytes.
module_name | The name of the module.
module_version | The version, as a 16.16 fixed number (major.minor).
module_requires | The version of FreeType this module requires, as a 16.16 fixed number (major.minor). Starts at version 2.0, i.e., 0x20000.
module_interface | A typeless pointer to a structure (which varies between different modules) that holds the module's interface functions. This is essentially what `get_interface` returns.
module_init | The initializing function.
module_done | The finalizing function.
get_interface | The interface requesting function.

## FT_Add_Module

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Add_Module( FT_Library              library,
                     const FT_Module_Class*  clazz );

Add a new module to a given library instance.

#### inout

library | A handle to the library object.

#### input

clazz | A pointer to class descriptor for the module.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

An error will be returned if a module already exists by that name, or if the module requires a version of FreeType that is too great.

## FT_Get_Module

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Module )
      FT_Get_Module( FT_Library   library,
                     const char*  module_name );

Find a module by its name.

#### input

library | A handle to the library object.
module_name | The module's name (as an ASCII string).

#### return

A module handle. 0 if none was found.

#### note

FreeType's internal modules aren't documented very well, and you should look up the source code for details.

## FT_Remove_Module

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Remove_Module( FT_Library  library,
                        FT_Module   module );

Remove a given module from a library instance.

#### inout

library | A handle to a library object.

#### input

module | A handle to a module object.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

The module object is destroyed by the function in case of success.

## FT_Add_Default_Modules

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( void )
      FT_Add_Default_Modules( FT_Library  library );

Add the set of default drivers to a given library object. This is only useful when you create a library object with `FT_New_Library` (usually to plug a custom memory manager).

#### inout

library | A handle to a new library object.

## FT_Property_Set

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Property_Set( FT_Library        library,
                       const FT_String*  module_name,
                       const FT_String*  property_name,
                       const void*       value );

Set a property for a given module.

#### input

library | A handle to the library the module is part of.
module_name | The module name.
property_name | The property name. Properties are described in section ‘Driver properties’. Note that only a few modules have properties.
value | A generic pointer to a variable or structure that gives the new value of the property. The exact definition of `value` is dependent on the property; see section ‘Driver properties’.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

If `module_name` isn't a valid module name, or `property_name` doesn't specify a valid property, or if `value` doesn't represent a valid value for the given property, an error is returned.

The following example sets property ‘bar’ (a simple integer) in module ‘foo’ to value 1.

      FT_UInt  bar;

      bar = 1;
      FT_Property_Set( library, "foo", "bar", &bar );

Note that the FreeType Cache sub-system doesn't recognize module property changes. To avoid glyph lookup confusion within the cache you should call `FTC_Manager_Reset` to completely flush the cache if a module property gets changed after `FTC_Manager_New` has been called.

It is not possible to set properties of the FreeType Cache sub-system itself with FT_Property_Set; use ?FTC_Property_Set? instead.

#### since

2.4.11

## FT_Property_Get

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Property_Get( FT_Library        library,
                       const FT_String*  module_name,
                       const FT_String*  property_name,
                       void*             value );

Get a module's property value.

#### input

library | A handle to the library the module is part of.
module_name | The module name.
property_name | The property name. Properties are described in section ‘Driver properties’.

#### inout

value | A generic pointer to a variable or structure that gives the value of the property. The exact definition of `value` is dependent on the property; see section ‘Driver properties’.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

If `module_name` isn't a valid module name, or `property_name` doesn't specify a valid property, or if `value` doesn't represent a valid value for the given property, an error is returned.

The following example gets property ‘baz’ (a range) in module ‘foo’.

      typedef  range_
      {
        FT_Int32  min;
        FT_Int32  max;

      } range;

      range  baz;

      FT_Property_Get( library, "foo", "baz", &baz );

It is not possible to retrieve properties of the FreeType Cache sub-system with FT_Property_Get; use ?FTC_Property_Get? instead.

#### since

2.4.11

## FT_Set_Default_Properties

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( void )
      FT_Set_Default_Properties( FT_Library  library );

If compilation option `FT_CONFIG_OPTION_ENVIRONMENT_PROPERTIES` is set, this function reads the `FREETYPE_PROPERTIES` environment variable to control driver properties. See section ‘Driver properties’ for more.

If the compilation option is not set, this function does nothing.

`FREETYPE_PROPERTIES` has the following syntax form (broken here into multiple lines for better readability).

      <optional whitespace>
      <module-name1> ':'
      <property-name1> '=' <property-value1>
      <whitespace>
      <module-name2> ':'
      <property-name2> '=' <property-value2>
      ...

Example:

      FREETYPE_PROPERTIES=truetype:interpreter-version=35 \
                          cff:no-stem-darkening=0 \
                          autofitter:warping=1

#### inout

library | A handle to a new library object.

#### since

2.8

## FT_New_Library

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_New_Library( FT_Memory    memory,
                      FT_Library  *alibrary );

This function is used to create a new FreeType library instance from a given memory object. It is thus possible to use libraries with distinct memory allocators within the same program. Note, however, that the used `FT_Memory` structure is expected to remain valid for the life of the `FT_Library` object.

Normally, you would call this function (followed by a call to `FT_Add_Default_Modules` or a series of calls to `FT_Add_Module`, and a call to `FT_Set_Default_Properties`) instead of `FT_Init_FreeType` to initialize the FreeType library.

Don't use `FT_Done_FreeType` but `FT_Done_Library` to destroy a library instance.

#### input

memory | A handle to the original memory object.

#### output

alibrary | A pointer to handle of a new library object.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

See the discussion of reference counters in the description of `FT_Reference_Library`.

## FT_Done_Library

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Done_Library( FT_Library  library );

Discard a given library object. This closes all drivers and discards all resource objects.

#### input

library | A handle to the target library.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

See the discussion of reference counters in the description of `FT_Reference_Library`.

## FT_Reference_Library

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Reference_Library( FT_Library  library );

A counter gets initialized to 1 at the time an `FT_Library` structure is created. This function increments the counter. `FT_Done_Library` then only destroys a library if the counter is 1, otherwise it simply decrements the counter.

This function helps in managing life-cycles of structures that reference `FT_Library` objects.

#### input

library | A handle to a target library object.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### since

2.4.2

## FT_Renderer

Defined in FT_FREETYPE_H (freetype/freetype.h).

      typedef struct FT_RendererRec_*  FT_Renderer;

A handle to a given FreeType renderer. A renderer is a module in charge of converting a glyph's outline image to a bitmap. It supports a single glyph image format, and one or more target surface depths.

## FT_Renderer_Class

Defined in FT_RENDER_H (freetype/ftrender.h).

      typedef struct  FT_Renderer_Class_
      {
        FT_Module_Class            root;

        FT_Glyph_Format            glyph_format;

        FT_Renderer_RenderFunc     render_glyph;
        FT_Renderer_TransformFunc  transform_glyph;
        FT_Renderer_GetCBoxFunc    get_glyph_cbox;
        FT_Renderer_SetModeFunc    set_mode;

        FT_Raster_Funcs*           raster_class;

      } FT_Renderer_Class;

The renderer module class descriptor.

#### fields

root | The root `FT_Module_Class` fields.
glyph_format | The glyph image format this renderer handles.
render_glyph | A method used to render the image that is in a given glyph slot into a bitmap.
transform_glyph | A method used to transform the image that is in a given glyph slot.
get_glyph_cbox | A method used to access the glyph's cbox.
set_mode | A method used to pass additional parameters.
raster_class | For `FT_GLYPH_FORMAT_OUTLINE` renderers only. This is a pointer to its raster's class.

## FT_Get_Renderer

Defined in FT_RENDER_H (freetype/ftrender.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Renderer )
      FT_Get_Renderer( FT_Library       library,
                       FT_Glyph_Format  format );

Retrieve the current renderer for a given glyph format.

#### input

library | A handle to the library object.
format | The glyph format.

#### return

A renderer handle. 0 if none found.

#### note

An error will be returned if a module already exists by that name, or if the module requires a version of FreeType that is too great.

To add a new renderer, simply use `FT_Add_Module`. To retrieve a renderer by its name, use `FT_Get_Module`.

## FT_Set_Renderer

Defined in FT_RENDER_H (freetype/ftrender.h).

      FT_EXPORT( FT_Error )
      FT_Set_Renderer( FT_Library     library,
                       FT_Renderer    renderer,
                       FT_UInt        num_params,
                       FT_Parameter*  parameters );

Set the current renderer to use, and set additional mode.

#### inout

library | A handle to the library object.

#### input

renderer | A handle to the renderer object.
num_params | The number of additional parameters.
parameters | Additional parameters.

#### return

FreeType error code. 0 means success.

#### note

In case of success, the renderer will be used to convert glyph images in the renderer's known format into bitmaps.

This doesn't change the current renderer for other formats.

Currently, no FreeType renderer module uses `parameters`; you should thus always pass `NULL` as the value.

## FT_Set_Debug_Hook

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      FT_EXPORT( void )
      FT_Set_Debug_Hook( FT_Library         library,
                         FT_UInt            hook_index,
                         FT_DebugHook_Func  debug_hook );

Set a debug hook function for debugging the interpreter of a font format.

While this is a public API function, an application needs access to FreeType's internal header files to do something useful.

Have a look at the source code of the `ttdebug` FreeType demo program for an example of its usage.

#### inout

library | A handle to the library object.

#### input

hook_index | The index of the debug hook. You should use defined enumeration macros like `FT_DEBUG_HOOK_TRUETYPE`.
debug_hook | The function used to debug the interpreter.

#### note

Currently, four debug hook slots are available, but only one (for the TrueType interpreter) is defined.

## FT_Driver

Defined in FT_FREETYPE_H (freetype/freetype.h).

      typedef struct FT_DriverRec_*  FT_Driver;

A handle to a given FreeType font driver object. A font driver is a module capable of creating faces from font files.

## FT_DebugHook_Func

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

      typedef FT_Error
      (*FT_DebugHook_Func)( void*  arg );

A drop-in replacement (or rather a wrapper) for the bytecode or charstring interpreter's main loop function.

Its job is essentially

- to activate debug mode to enforce single-stepping,

- to call the main loop function to interpret the next opcode, and

- to show the changed context to the user.

An example for such a main loop function is `TT_RunIns` (declared in FreeType's internal header file `src/truetype/ttinterp.h`).

Have a look at the source code of the `ttdebug` FreeType demo program for an example of a drop-in replacement.

#### inout

arg | A typeless pointer, to be cast to the main loop function's data structure (which depends on the font module). For TrueType fonts it is bytecode interpreter's execution context, `TT_ExecContext`, which is declared in FreeType's internal header file `tttypes.h`.

## FT_DEBUG_HOOK_XXX

Defined in FT_MODULE_H (freetype/ftmodapi.h).

    #define FT_DEBUG_HOOK_TRUETYPE  0

A list of named debug hook indices.

#### values

FT_DEBUG_HOOK_TRUETYPE | This hook index identifies the TrueType bytecode debugger.