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|
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<title>Chapter 11. Introducing MetaFont</title>
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<td align="right"><i>Making TeX Work</i> Version 1.0.1
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<div class="chapter">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title"><a id="chap.mf"
name="chap.mf"></a>Chapter 11. Introducing
MetaFont</h2>
</div>
<div>
<p class="releaseinfo">$Revision: 1.1 $</p>
</div>
<div>
<p class="pubdate">$Date: 2002/08/23 14:31:13 $</p>
</div>
<hr class="component-separator" />
</div>
<p>TeX builds pages out of boxes<a id="id2915957"
class="indexterm" name="id2915957"></a> and glue<a
id="id2915971" class="indexterm" name="id2915971"></a>. The
smallest boxes are usually individual characters. MetaFont<a
id="id2915983" class="indexterm" name="id2915983"></a> is a
tool that creates the actual characters.</p>
<p>In the last few years, a real explosion has taken place in
the number of readily available fonts<a id="id2916000"
class="indexterm" name="id2916000"></a><a id="id2915858"
class="indexterm" name="id2915858"></a><a id="id2915866"
class="indexterm" name="id2915866"></a>. Today, many people
have access to a large number of high quality typefaces. Not
too long ago (before Adobe Type Manager (ATM)<a
id="id2915883" class="indexterm" name="id2915883"></a> was
available for the Macintosh and Microsoft Windows), fonts
were too expensive to be generally available. In those days,
a font building tool like MetaFont was essential if TeX was
going to have a number of typefaces and a large number of
mathematical symbols. Today, the role of MetaFont is
diminishing. Many people choose to use PostScript fonts<a
id="id2915891" class="indexterm" name="id2915891"></a> almost
entirely. In fact, with PostScript alternatives to the
Computer Modern Math fonts<a id="id2915912" class="indexterm"
name="id2915912"></a><a id="id2915918" class="indexterm"
name="id2915918"></a> now available, it's possible to use TeX
without using MetaFont fonts at all.</p>
<p>On the other hand, lots of people do still use the
Computer Modern fonts, and there are many other MetaFont
fonts (for non-English languages like Arabic and Japanese,
for example), so MetaFont is still a useful tool. Also, it
can be used to make nice portable diagrams.</p>
<p>This chapter cannot teach you how to harness all of
MetaFont's power. The only practical way to learn how to
design your own images with MetaFont is to read <span
class="emphasis"><em>The \MF{}book</em></span> [<a
href="bi01.html#kn:mfbook">kn:mfbook</a>] (even if your
images are nowhere near as complex as an entire font).</p>
<p>What you will learn from this chapter is how to run
MetaFont to create TeX <tt>PK</tt> fonts<a id="id2917710"
class="indexterm" name="id2917710"></a> and <tt>TFM</tt>
files<a id="id2917745" class="indexterm"
name="id2917745"></a> from existing MetaFont programs. The
Computer Modern fonts, the \AmS fonts, and the DC Fonts are
all created with MetaFont. It is not unreasonable to imagine
that you might someday want to create one of these fonts at a
non-standard size or unusual magnification.</p>
<p>Knowing how to run MetaFont will also help you set up a
system for performing automatic font generation. This can
save a lot of disk space. See the section called “<a
href="ch05.html#sec.autofont"
title="Automatic Font Generation by DVI Drivers">the section
called “Automatic Font Generation by DVI
Drivers”</a>” in Chapter <a href="ch05.html"
title="Chapter 5. Fonts">Chapter 5</a>, <span
class="emphasis"><em><a href="ch05.html"
title="Chapter 5. Fonts">Chapter 5</a></em></span>,
for more information about setting up automatic font
generation.</p>
<p>From many perspectives, TeX and MetaFont behave in
analogous ways. Where TeX reads a plain text <tt>TEX</tt>
document, processes it, and produces a <tt>DVI</tt> file,
MetaFont reads a plain text <tt>MF</tt> program, processes
it, and produces a generic bitmap font file as output.</p>
<p>Because you probably aren't going to be writing your own
font programs for MetaFont, you have to get them from
somewhere. Many distributions of TeX include MetaFont and the
font files for the Computer Modern fonts. This chapter will
concentrate on just the Computer Modern font programs because
those are the most likely to be available.</p>
<p>Many MetaFont fonts can be retrieved from the CTAN
archives. Table <a href="ch11.html#tab.mf.mfdistrib"
title="Table 11.1. Some Popular MetaFont Fonts on the CTAN Archives">
Table 11.1</a> lists some common fonts and their
location in the CTAN archives. A collection of font samples
is shown in Appendix <a href="apb.html"
title="Appendix B. Font Samples">Appendix B</a>,
<span class="emphasis"><em><a href="apb.html"
title="Appendix B. Font Samples">Appendix B</a></em></span>.</p>
<div class="table">
<a id="tab.mf.mfdistrib" name="tab.mf.mfdistrib"></a>
<p class="title"><b>Table 11.1. Some Popular
MetaFont Fonts on the CTAN Archives</b></p>
<table
summary="Some Popular MetaFont Fonts on the CTAN Archives"
border="1">
<colgroup>
<col />
<col />
</colgroup>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Fonts</th>
<th>Location</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
<tr>
<td>Standard Computer Modern</td>
<td><tt>fonts/cm</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Standard LaTeX</td>
<td><tt>macros/latex/distribs/base/fonts</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>A<sub>m</sub>S Fonts</td>
<td><tt>fonts/ams</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>DC Fonts</td>
<td><tt>fonts/dc</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Concrete</td>
<td><tt>fonts/concrete</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Pandora</td>
<td><tt>fonts/pandora</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>Ralph Smith's Script Font</td>
<td><tt>fonts/rsfs</tt></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>St. Mary's Road</td>
<td><tt>fonts/stmary</tt></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a
id="sec.mf.gettingstarted"
name="sec.mf.gettingstarted"></a>What to Run?</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>Like TeX itself, the actual MetaFont file you have to
execute <a id="id2918084" class="indexterm"
name="id2918084"></a> varies between platforms and
implementations. If you have built and/or installed TeX,
you probably already know what program to run. You'll have
to ask your system administrator for help if you cannot
figure out what the name of the MetaFont executable is on
your computer. In the rest \linebreak</p>
<p>of this chapter, I'll assume that the command <span
class="emphasis"><em>mf</em></span> runs MetaFont. You
should substitute the name of the executable program on
your system for <span class="emphasis"><em>mf</em></span>
in the examples that follow.</p>
<p>MetaFont comes in big and small versions just like TeX.
You will need the big MetaFont if you are building fonts
for very high-resolution devices or at very large sizes.
Most fonts can be built with a small MetaFont.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2918131"
name="id2918131"></a>What Files Does MetaFont
Need?</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>In addition to the MetaFont programs, MetaFont<a
id="id2918140" class="indexterm" name="id2918140"></a> must
be able to find several other files. The files that are
needed are normally created during the installation
process. The sections that follow describe each of the
files that MetaFont needs.</p>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2918156"
name="id2918156"></a>Pool Files</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>The pool file<a id="id2918169" class="indexterm"
name="id2918169"></a> for each version of MetaFont has
the same purpose as the pool file created for TeX. It is
created when MetaFont is compiled. If you don't have a
pool file, there's nothing you can do about it. If you
obtained precompiled programs (from the Internet, from a
friend, or commercially) and you don't have the pool file
needed by MetaFont, you received an incomplete
distribution.</p>
<p>If you did not install MetaFont, and the pool file is
missing, contact the system administrator who performed
the installation. Something was done incorrectly.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2918200"
name="id2918200"></a>Base Files</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>Base files<a id="id2918209" class="indexterm"
name="id2918209"></a> for MetaFont are analogous to
format files for TeX. Unlike TeX, which has many
different format files, there are relatively few base
files for MetaFont.</p>
<p>Base files are created by a special version of
MetaFont, usually called \iniMF. However, some
implementations combine MetaFont and \iniMF into one
program, in which case you must select \iniMF with a
special option when you run the program.</p>
<p>Like iniTeX, \iniMF interprets all the control
sequences in a set of base macros and builds the
in-memory data structures that the MetaFont program
needs. After loading all the files, \iniMF writes the
memory image into a base file. When MetaFont loads the
base file, it simply copies it into memory; no
interpretation is necessary.</p>
<p>Because MetaFont loads the base files without
interpretation, they are not generally portable from one
system to another, or even between different versions of
MetaFont on the same system. Different versions of
MetaFont load differently in memory, and this makes the
base files incompatible. For example, you need a big
\iniMF to make base files for big MetaFont and small
\iniMF for a small MetaFont.</p>
<p>The “<a href="ch11.html#sec.mf.gettingstarted"
title="What to Run?">the section called “What to
Run?”</a>” section later in this chapter
describes how to build a base file, if you do not already
have one.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2918279"
name="id2918279"></a>MetaFont Programs</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>When you run MetaFont, you have to tell it what file
(MetaFont program)<a id="id2918287" class="indexterm"
name="id2918287"></a> to process. MetaFont programs are
stored in files with the extension <tt>.mf</tt>. If you
specify a complete pathname, MetaFont will load the
specific file that you request. If you specify a simple
filename without a path, MetaFont looks for the file in
several user-defined and, possibly, system-defined
locations. The most common way to specify user-defined
locations is by setting the <tt>MFINPUTS</tt> environment
variable to a list of subdirectories where MetaFont
programs are kept. The format of the environment variable
differs according to the platform you use. On unix
systems, it is a list of directory names separated by
colons. On MS-DOS and OS/2 systems, it is a list of
directory names separated by semicolons. Consult the
documentation for the particular implementation of
MetaFont you use for more information about
system-defined locations where MetaFont looks for input
files.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2918336"
name="id2918336"></a>Command-line Options</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>In addition to the name of the MetaFont program,
MetaFont has very few command-line<a id="id2918345"
class="indexterm" name="id2918345"></a><a id="id2918360"
class="indexterm" name="id2918360"></a> options. The name
of a base file is the only option regularly used. In this
section, I'll explain what can go on the MetaFont command
line.</p>
<p>A formal specification of the MetaFont command line
looks like this:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ <span class="bold"><b>mf <span
class="emphasis"><em>switches</em></span> <span
class="bold"><b>&</b></span><span
class="emphasis"><em>base</em></span> mf-program mf-commands</b></span>
</pre>
<p>After the name of the MetaFont program, the first things
that you can specify on the command line are
implementation-dependent switches and options. For example,
implementations of MetaFont that combine \iniMF and
MetaFont into a single program may use the switch <span
class="emphasis"><em>/I</em></span> to specify that \iniMF
processing is desired. There are no system-independent
switches for MetaFont. Consult the documentation that comes
with your implementation for more information about
system-dependent switches.</p>
<p>After any system-dependent switches, you can specify the
name of the base file to use. This option, if present, must
come before any other options, and you must put an
ampersand (&) in front of the base file name. If you do
not specify a base file, MetaFont will use a default
base.</p>
<p>After the base, MetaFont looks for the name of a
MetaFont program file. If MetaFont finds a filename on the
command line, it will process the program contained in that
file before looking at any other options that may
follow.</p>
<p>Finally, you can insert arbitrary MetaFont commands on
the command line by typing them just as you would in a
program. In fact, this is frequently done to change the
size or magnification of the font being created. Exactly
how this is accomplished is described in the section called
“<a href="ch11.html#sec.buildfont"
title="Running MetaFont">the section called “Running
MetaFont”</a>” later in this chapter.</p>
<p>Please read the section called “<a
href="ch03.html#sec.runtex.cmdcautions"
title="Command-line Options">the section called
“Command-line Options”</a>” in
Chapter <a href="ch03.html"
title="Chapter 3. Running TeX">Chapter 3</a>,
<span class="emphasis"><em><a href="ch03.html"
title="Chapter 3. Running TeX">Chapter 3</a></em></span>,
for a detailed description of some common problems with
MetaFont commands on the command line. They are exactly the
same problems that can occur on the TeX command line.</p>
<p>Also, the behavior of MetaFont when run without any
options at all is the same as the behavior of TeX as
described in the section called “<a
href="ch03.html#sec.runtex.texwoopts"
title="Filenames and TeX">the section called
“Filenames and TeX”</a>” in
Chapter <a href="ch03.html"
title="Chapter 3. Running TeX">Chapter 3</a>.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2918545"
name="id2918545"></a>Building a Base File</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>Building a base file<a id="id2918553" class="indexterm"
name="id2918553"></a> for MetaFont is exactly analogous to
building a format file for TeX. Fortunately, there are far
fewer base files. The two most common base files are the
<span class="emphasis"><em>plain</em></span> <a
id="id2918571" class="indexterm" name="id2918571"></a> base
and the <span class="emphasis"><em>cmbase</em></span><a
id="id2918583" class="indexterm" name="id2918583"></a> (the
base used for the Computer Modern fonts). Use the \iniMF
program<a id="id2918593" class="indexterm"
name="id2918593"></a> to build a base file. For example, to
build the plain base, use:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span class="bold"><b>inimf plain</b></span>
</pre>
<p>Move the resulting files, <tt>plain.base</tt><a
id="id2918627" class="indexterm" name="id2918627"></a> and
<tt>plain.log</tt><a id="id2918646" class="indexterm"
name="id2918646"></a>, into the directory where MetaFont
looks for base files (typically in a <tt>bases</tt> or
<tt>formats</tt> subdirectory under the standard TeX
directory).</p>
<p>The <span class="emphasis"><em>cmbase</em></span> is
actually an extension of the plain base. To build it, use
the command:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span class="bold"><b>inimf &plain cmbase</b></span>
</pre>
<p>Remember to use appropriate quotation or shell escape
characters to prevent the ampersand from being
misinterpreted.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a
id="sec.buildfont" name="sec.buildfont"></a>Running
MetaFont</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="id2918724" class="indexterm"
name="id2918724"></a><a id="id2918736" class="indexterm"
name="id2918736"></a>The sections that follow describe how
to use MetaFont to make a font from an existing <tt>MF</tt>
file. You should reread the sections “<a
href="ch05.html#sec.issueofsize"
title="What TeX Needs To Know">the section called
“What TeX Needs To Know”</a>” from
Chapter <a href="ch05.html"
title="Chapter 5. Fonts">Chapter 5</a>,
<span class="emphasis"><em><a href="ch05.html"
title="Chapter 5. Fonts">Chapter 5</a></em></span>,
and “<a href="ch08.html#sec.bitfonts"
title="Built-in Fonts">the section called “Built-in
Fonts”</a>” from Chapter <a
href="ch08.html"
title="Chapter 8. Printing">Chapter 8</a>,
<span class="emphasis"><em><a href="ch08.html"
title="Chapter 8. Printing">Chapter 8</a></em></span>,
if you are unfamiliar with the notions of bitmap and device
resolution and magnification and design size in TeX
fonts.</p>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2918826"
name="id2918826"></a>Picking a Mode</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>The input to MetaFont<a id="id2918833"
class="indexterm" name="id2918833"></a> is an
“outline” description of a font. The output
is a set of bitmaps that realize the outline on a
particular device at a particular size.</p>
<p>Output from MetaFont is naturally device-dependent
because different printers have different resolutions.
But even two printers with the same resolution sometimes
produce different looking results from the same bit
patterns. For example, some laser printers are
“write white” printers, and some are
“write black” printers---depending on whether
the printer fills in the black (text) areas or the white
(non-text) areas of the page. A small, intricate bitmap
(like a character from a font) designed for a write-black
printer may not look as good on a write-white printer and
vice versa.</p>
<p>There are several internal parameters that can be
modified to produce optimal output on any given device.
These parameters are grouped together in a <span
class="emphasis"><em>mode</em></span>. Whenever you run
MetaFont to create a new set of bitmaps, you must select
a mode.</p>
<p>There are no rules for determining what parameters
produce the best mode for a particular printer; it's just
done by trial and error (set some values, print a font,
see if it looks good, adjust some values, print another
font, etc.).</p>
<p>Luckily, a large collection of predefined MetaFont
modes is available in the CTAN archives. The file
<tt>fonts/modes/modes.mf</tt> contains appropriate
MetaFont modes for many printers.</p>
<p>Each mode has a name<a id="id2918916"
class="indexterm" name="id2918916"></a>. For example,
<tt>laserwriter</tt> and <tt>LNOthree</tt> are two modes
from <tt>modes.mf</tt>. See “<a
href="ch11.html#sec.buildfont"
title="Running MetaFont">the section called
“Running MetaFont”</a>,” later in this
chapter for how to select a mode when you run
MetaFont.</p>
<p>Internally, MetaFont has a variable called
<tt>mode</tt> that it uses to keep track of the current
mode. The examples in this chapter use the
<tt>laserwriter</tt> mode because that is appropriate for
my printer.</p>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h4 class="title"><a id="id2918994"
name="id2918994"></a>Proofing mode</h4>
</div>
</div>
<p>Proofing mode<a id="id2919003" class="indexterm"
name="id2919003"></a> is the mode that MetaFont uses if
you do not select another mode. In proofing mode,
MetaFont displays each character on the screen. This
mode does not usually produce a useful font because it
sets the device resolution to 2601.72 dots per inch
(dpi). That resolution is chosen so that there are
exactly 36 pixels per point (one point is 1/72.27
inches in TeX).</p>
<p>Because font designers are going to want to look at
a font on the screen far more often than they will want
to print it, MetaFont uses proofing mode as the
default.</p>
<p>If you find that MetaFont is producing fonts with
huge resolutions (thousands of dots per inch) or fonts
without <tt>TFM</tt> files, you're probably running in
proofing mode. Remember to use the mode-setting
commands on the command line when you run MetaFont.
These commands are described in “<a
href="ch11.html#sec.buildfont"
title="Running MetaFont">the section called
“Running MetaFont”</a>,” later in
this chapter.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2919066"
name="id2919066"></a>Selecting a Size</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>The design size<a id="id2919075" class="indexterm"
name="id2919075"></a> of the font you are creating is
determined by the <tt>MF</tt> file you use. For example,
the design size of <tt>cmr10.mf</tt> is 10pt. The design
size of <tt>cmr12.mf</tt> is 12pt, etc. To select how
large you want the bitmaps to be, you must set the
magnification. There is no other way to select the size
when you are running MetaFont.</p>
<p>If you know the design size of a font and the size of
the bitmaps that you actually want to produce, it is easy
to calculate the magnification required. The
magnification is simply the ratio of the size you want to
the design size.</p>
<p>For example, suppose you need a 16pt version of
Computer Modern Roman. First, pick the font that has a
design size closest to the size you want---in this case,
Computer Modern Roman 17pt (<tt>cmr17.mf</tt>). To
calculate the magnification, simply divide 16 by 17; in
other words, the desired magnification is 0.9412. To make
a 13pt version of <tt>cmr12</tt>, use a magnification of
1.0833. Remember, in order to use these fonts in TeX, you
will have to use the <tt>at</tt> or <tt>scaled</tt>
operators (for example, <tt>\font\cmrxvi=cmr17 at
16pt</tt>).</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2919175"
name="id2919175"></a>Making a GF Font</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="id2919183" class="indexterm"
name="id2919183"></a><a id="id2919196" class="indexterm"
name="id2919196"></a><a id="id2919208" class="indexterm"
name="id2919208"></a>After you have selected a mode and a
magnification, running MetaFont is easy. In general, you
use a command line like the following:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span class="bold"><b>mf {\bs}mode=</b></span><span
class="emphasis"><em>selected-mode</em></span><span
class="bold"><b>; mag=</b></span><span
class="emphasis"><em>desired-magnification</em></span><span
class="bold"><b>; {\bs}input</b></span> <span
class="emphasis"><em>mf-file</em></span>
</pre>
<p>For example, on a unix system, the following command
line would make a GF file for the Computer Modern Roman
12pt font at a size of 13pt:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span
class="bold"><b>mf '{\bs}mode=laserwriter; mag=1.0833; {\bs}input cmr12'</b></span>
</pre>
<p>Note the use of quotation marks to avoid
shell-expansion of the backslash characters.</p>
<p>On an MS-DOS or OS/2 system, where the backslash is
not a special character, the 13pt version of
<tt>cmr12</tt> is made with the following command:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span
class="bold"><b>mf {\bs}mode=laserwriter; mag=1.0833; {\bs}input cmr12</b></span>
</pre>
<p>As you can see, the semicolons are <span
class="emphasis"><em>required</em></span> in both
cases.</p>
<p>Magnification<a id="id2919326" class="indexterm"
name="id2919326"></a> can be expressed with the
<tt>magstep()</tt> function if the font is being built at
a standard magstep size. For example, the following
command builds a 14.44pt version of <tt>cmr12</tt>:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span
class="bold"><b>mf {\bs}mode=hplaser; mag=magstep(1); {\bs}input cmr12</b></span>
</pre>
<p>This corresponds to \magstep1. This example also
illustrates how a different mode can be selected. In this
case, the font is being built for an HP LaserJet printer.
The command is shown without quotations, but they are
still necessary on unix systems.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2919378"
name="id2919378"></a>Making a PK Font</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="id2919390" class="indexterm"
name="id2919390"></a><a id="id2919415" class="indexterm"
name="id2919415"></a><a id="id2919427" class="indexterm"
name="id2919427"></a>Running MetaFont, as shown above,
produces a <tt>TFM</tt> file and a <tt>GF</tt> file. TeX
only needs the <tt>TFM</tt> file, which can simply be
copied to the appropriate directory. For the Computer
Modern fonts, you probably already have copies of the
<tt>TFM</tt> files, so the duplicates produced by
MetaFont can be deleted. The <tt>TFM</tt> file does not
change at different magnifications, so you do not need to
save different <tt>TFM</tt> files for different
sizes.</p>
<p>The <tt>GF</tt> file contains a font in the
“generic bitmap” format. Most DVI drivers use
<tt>PK</tt> files. The <b>GFtoPK</b> program converts
<tt>GF</tt> fonts into <tt>PK</tt> fonts. If MetaFont
creates the file <tt>cmr12.gf</tt>, you can convert it
into a <tt>PK</tt> file by issuing the command:</p>
<pre class="screen">
\$ <span class="bold"><b>gftopk cmr12.gf cmr12.pk</b></span>
</pre>
<p>After conversion, you should move the <tt>PK</tt> file
to the appropriate directory for your DVI driver and
delete the <tt>GF</tt> file. <tt>PK</tt> files are
generally stored in one of two directory structures. On
operating systems that support long filenames, it is most
common to store all the <tt>PK</tt> files for a given
font in the same directory, using the extension to
identify the resolution. In this case, a 360dpi version
of <tt>cmr10</tt> would be stored as
<tt>cmr10.360pk</tt>. Under operating systems like
MS-DOS, which do not support long filenames, different
resolutions are stored in their own directories. In this
case the 360dpi font just described would be stored as
<tt>cmr10.pk</tt> in a directory called <tt>360dpi</tt>
or <tt>dpi360</tt>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2919679"
name="id2919679"></a>What About Errors?</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>Because I'm operating under the assumption that you are
not writing your own MetaFont programs, errors<a
id="id2919688" class="indexterm" name="id2919688"></a> are
far less likely. Nevertheless, there are a few things that
can go wrong.</p>
<p>Figure <a href="ch11.html#fig.eight"
title="Figure 11.1. A figure eight created with MetaFont">
Figure 11.1</a> shows a simple figure eight created
with MetaFont. The code which creates this symbol is shown
in Example <a href="ch11.html#ex.eightcode"
title="Example 11.1. The Code for the Figure Eight">
Example 11.1</a>.</p>
<div class="figure">
<a id="fig.eight" name="fig.eight"></a>
<p class="title"><b>Figure 11.1. A figure eight
created with MetaFont</b></p>
<pre class="screen">
8
</pre>
</div>
<div class="example">
<a id="ex.eightcode" name="ex.eightcode"></a>
<p class="title"><b>Example 11.1. The Code for
the Figure Eight</b></p>
<pre class="screen">
mode_setup;
u# := 2mm#;
define_pixels(u);
beginchar("A", 8u#, 9u#, 5u#);
z1 = ( 0u, 0u);
z2 = ( 8u, 0u);
z3 = ( 1u, 8u);
z4 = ( 7u, 8u);
pickup pencircle scaled 1u#;
draw z4 .. z1 .. z2 .. z3 .. cycle;
pickup pencircle scaled 3u#;
drawdot z1;
drawdot z2;
drawdot z3;
drawdot z4;
endchar;
\end
</pre>
</div>
<p>Let's look at some of the things that can go wrong. In
the following examples, a unix implementation of MetaFont
is being used. Quotation marks are used to prevent
misinterpretation of the backslashes.</p>
<div class="variablelist">
<dl>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>! I can't find file
`mode=laserwriter.mf'.</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>If you forget to put a backslash in front of the
<tt>mode</tt> parameter, MetaFont thinks that mode
specification is the name of the <tt>MF</tt> file.
For example, <tt>mode=laserwriter</tt> is
misinterpreted as the filename:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf 'mode=laserwriter; \input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
! I can't find file `mode=laserwriter.mf'.
<*> mode=laserwriter
; \input eight
Please type another input file name:
</pre>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>! Value is too large
(xxxx).</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>This error occurs if some element of the image
goes outside of the bounds allowed by MetaFont.
Frequently, this occurs in proofing mode when the
image is so large that it can't be rendered.<sup>[<a
id="id2919870" name="id2919870"
href="#ftn.id2919870">112</a>]</sup> In this example,
MetaFont is in proofing mode because I forgot the
\mode=laserwriter parameter on the command line:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
(eight.mf
! Value is too large (4097).
<recently read> ;
beginchar->...rdp:=(EXPR3);w:=hround(charwd*hppp);
h:=vround(charht*hppp);
l.5 beginchar("A", 8u#, 9u#, 5u#)
;
?
</pre>
<p>This doesn't mean that MetaFont can't render very
large images; it just means that my design isn't
robust enough to handle an extremely high
resolution.</p>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>! Curve out of
range.</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>This error is also caused by an image that is too
large to be rendered.<sup>[<a id="id2919932"
name="id2919932" href="#ftn.id2919932">113</a>]</sup>
Again, MetaFont is trying to create the image at an
extremely high resolution; it is in proofing mode
because I forgot the \mode=laserwriter parameter on
the command line:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
(eight.mf
! Curve out of range.
<to be read again>
;
l.11 draw z4 .. z1 .. z2 .. z3 .. cycle;
?
</pre>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>unknown
string</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>This is what happens if you forget the semicolon
after the \mode parameter. In this example, MetaFont
thinks that “<tt>laserwriter \input
eight</tt>” is the mode, which doesn't make
sense:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\mode=laserwriter \input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
(eight.mf
>> unknown string mode_name0
! Not a string.
<to be read again>
;
mode_setup->...nput "&mode)else:mode_name[mode]fi;
if.unknown.mag:...
l.1 mode_setup
;
?
</pre>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>! Extra tokens will be
flushed.</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Oops, another missing semicolon:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\mode=laserwriter; mag=magstep(1) \input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
(eight.mf
! Extra tokens will be flushed.
<to be read again>
warningcheck
mode_setup->warningcheck
:=0;if.unknown.mode:mode=proof;fi...
l.1 mode_setup
?
</pre>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term">Nothing
happens…</span></dt>
<dd>
<p>MetaFont is sitting at the asterisk prompt waiting
for you to do something. You forgot to \input the
font:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\mode=laserwriter; eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
*
</pre>
</dd>
<dt><span class="term"><tt>Output written on
eight.nnngf…</tt></span></dt>
<dd>
<p>Success! A 300dpi version of <tt>eight.mf</tt> has
been created and stored in the file
<tt>eight.300gf</tt>:</p>
<pre class="screen">
$ mf '\mode=laserwriter; \input eight'
This is METAFONT, Version 2.71 (C version 6.1)
(eight.mf [65] )
Font metrics written on eight.tfm.
Output written on eight.300gf (1 character, 1964 bytes).
Transcript written on eight.log.
</pre>
<p>On systems that place restrictions on the length
of a filename extension, it is abbreviated to
<tt>eight.300</tt>. The next step is to run <span
class="emphasis"><em>gftopk eight.300gf</em></span>.
This will produce <tt>eight.300pk</tt>, which our DVI
driver can use.</p>
</dd>
</dl>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h3 class="title"><a id="id2920144"
name="id2920144"></a>Other Errors</h3>
</div>
</div>
<p>The list of errors in the preceding sections is hardly
exhaustive. For example, the gothic fonts (see
Appendix <a href="apb.html"
title="Appendix B. Font Samples">Appendix B</a>,
<span class="emphasis"><em><a href="apb.html"
title="Appendix B. Font Samples">Appendix B</a></em></span>)
produce two more errors when rendered at low resolutions:
<span class="emphasis"><em>! inconsistent
equation</em></span>, caused by apparently contradictory
statements (probably due to rounding errors) and <span
class="emphasis"><em>{! strange path}</em></span>, caused
by a path that does not appear to run counter-clockwise
(again probably caused by rounding errors, these are very
complex fonts).<sup>[<a id="id2920188" name="id2920188"
href="#ftn.id2920188">114</a>]</sup></p>
<p>Most of the other errors that are encountered can be
ignored (the preceding examples from the gothic fonts can
certainly be ignored---at least at 300dpi). Entering
<b>H</b> at MetaFont's question mark prompt will describe
the cause of the error in more detail.</p>
</div>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2920215"
name="id2920215"></a>Output at Very High
Resolutions</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p>Producing MetaFont output for very high resolution <a
id="id2920224" class="indexterm" name="id2920224"></a>
devices like phototypesetters is sometimes difficult. This
will frequently require a big MetaFont for the same reasons
that processing a large document requires a big TeX.</p>
<p>It is possible to construct examples that cannot be
rendered at very high resolutions because they are simply
too large and complex.</p>
</div>
<div class="section">
<div class="titlepage">
<div>
<h2 class="title" style="clear: both"><a id="id2920252"
name="id2920252"></a>Output at Very Low
Resolutions</h2>
</div>
</div>
<p><a id="id2920260" class="indexterm"
name="id2920260"></a>The intricate detail of many
characters is difficult to render at very low resolutions.
Yet, it is sometimes desirable to produce output at low
resolutions for on-screen previewers and dot matrix
printers.</p>
<p>Usually, errors like “<tt>strange turning
path</tt>” that result from attempting to produce
output at low resolutions can be ignored, but sometimes the
resulting characters will be distorted.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnotes">
<br />
<hr width="100" align="left" />
<div class="footnote">
<p><sup>[<a id="ftn.id2919870" name="ftn.id2919870"
href="#id2919870">112</a>]</sup> {Obtaining this error
from <tt>eight.mf</tt> required changing unit size from
2mm to 5mm.}</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><sup>[<a id="ftn.id2919932" name="ftn.id2919932"
href="#id2919932">113</a>]</sup> {Obtaining this error
from <tt>eight.mf</tt> required changing unit size from
2mm to 4mm.}</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote">
<p><sup>[<a id="ftn.id2920188" name="ftn.id2920188"
href="#id2920188">114</a>]</sup> {There are very specific
rules about which way paths must be drawn so that
MetaFont's algorithms for filling in the character's
outline can succeed.}</p>
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