[MPEG-OTSPEC] Variable Composites and CFF2 (or other formats)

[Liam R. E. Quin]

On Tue, 2023-12-05 at 04:14 -0800, Skef Iterum wrote:

> Of course, in practice this means that we're asking that variable
> composites be taken out of the upcoming proposal (and that if it
> isn't Adobe will vote not to approve it, and encourage others to do
> the same). However, we want to stress that this does not necessarily
> mean we will not vote in favor later if further research indicates
> that glyf is the better way to go.

Can we adopt a slightly different approach? We’re looking at coming up
with a proposal for an external table, outside GLYF, as you/Adobe
proposed, but in the meantime, since the ad hoc meeting is on Monday, i
can't really change the proposal we've submitted.

However, we do see the motivation, and the document is a working draft,
so it can be changed, and that's fine.

> Accordingly, we also suggest that how to go about that research and
> development, including who needs to be involved, should be one topic
> for the meeting next week. 

That's fine, i see Vlad added it to the agenda.

And it'd be OK to vote for the existing Google proposal to go ahead but
with variable composites removed, of course. Or, with the proviso that
a proposal for an external table be developed at least far enough for
concrete discussion.

I don't know that we can a new external-table proposal ready by Monday,
and in any case people won't have seen it. But we can put it in the
Boring Expansions repository and send email about it.

I'm sorry if we dropped the ball on the external table proposal;
silence in this case was not a sign of disagreement or disapproval or
anything; i should have pushed for discussion about it internally
here).

Anyway, either way is fine, but i want to avoid the situation where we
end up with no variable composites at all by April, so having at least
one approach, albeit a flawed one, in the working draft, might be
better than none? What do you think? Again, it's a working draft, so we
can take things out if a better approach is chosen, and that's true for
any part of the proposals.

Thanks,

liam

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