[mpeg-OTspec] Re: OFF "cv01"-"cv99", and a more general question

[Levantovsky, Vladimir]

Hello Karsten,


________________________________

	From: mpeg-OTspec at yahoogroups.com
[mailto:mpeg-OTspec at yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of karstenluecke
	Sent: Friday, March 13, 2009 2:26 PM
	To: mpeg-OTspec at yahoogroups.com
	Subject: [mpeg-OTspec] Re: OFF "cv01"-"cv99", and a more general
question
	
	

	
	 <snip>

	OpenType claims to be platform independent (this is how it was
sold to foundries and end users, and only then it makes sense to turn it
into a standard), but there is no cross-platform engine/API nor a
specification which would ensure that OT fonts, built after the spec,
behave the same on a variety of platforms.
	(No intentions to play out GX vs OT. GX just helps me illustrate
what I consider as important missing bit. 
	 
	Both OT and ISO OFF specifications  define the font data
encoding format. They also aim to provide necessary details to ensure
that all the features can be properly implemented by font developers and
font development tools, and by text layout and font rendering engines.
Due to the natural history of evolution of different font formats that
contributed to creation of OT / OFF technology, the specification also
incorporates information that is relevant to all major existing and
legacy platforms. So, as it exists today, the specification and the
technology is cross-platform, as evident by multiple implementations. 
	 
	I agree with you that the number of different features and their
complexity make it difficult to ensure that all implementation's
behaviors are identical, and that all features are implemented exactly
the same way. This is however the issue of conformance, and as such does
not affect the cross-platform nature of the technology. If there is a
way to improve the specification to help implementers build conformant
implementations that behave the same way, we should definitely do it and
your contributions would be very much appreciated.
	 
	Thank you and best regards,
	Vladimir
	

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