METAFONT is a programming language used to define vector fonts. It is also the name of the interpreter that executes METAFONT code, converting the vector fonts into bitmap fonts that can be included in PostScript documents. A programming language or computer language is a standardized communication technique for expressing instructions to a computer. ... An interpreter is a computer program that executes other programs. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ...

This programming language was devised by Donald Knuth as counterpart to his T_EX typesetting system. One of the characteristics of METAFONT is that all of the shapes of the glyphs are defined with powerful geometrical equations, e.g., you can define a given point to be the intersection of a line segment and a Bézier cubic. Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth (born January 10, 1938) is a renowned computer scientist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. ... The TeX mascot, by Duane Bibby TEX, written as TeX in plain text, is a typesetting system created by Donald Knuth. ... These are the astrological glyphs as most commonly used in Western Astrology A glyph is a carved figure or character, incised or in relief; a carved pictograph; hence, a pictograph representing a form originally adopted for sculpture, whether carved or painted. ... In the mathematical subfield of numerical analysis a Bézier curve is a parametric curve important in computer graphics. ...

Unlike more common outline font formats (such as TrueType or PostScript Type 1), a METAFONT font is primarily made up of strokes with finite-width "pens", along with filled regions. Thus, rather than describing the outline of the glyph directly, a METAFONT file describes the pen paths. Some simpler METAFONT fonts, such as the calligraphic mathematics fonts in the Computer Modern family, use a single pen stroke with a relatively large pen to define each visual "stroke" of the glyphs. More complex fonts such as the Roman text fonts in the Computer Modern family use a small pen to trace around the outline of the visual "strokes", which are then filled; the result is much like an outline font, but with slightly softened corners defined by the pen shape. TrueType is an outline font standard originally developed by Apple Computer in the late 1980s as a competitor to Adobes Type 1 fonts used in PostScript. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ... Sample text in Computer Modern Computer Modern is the family of typefaces used by default by the typesetting program TeX. It was created by Donald Knuth with his METAFONT program, and was most recently updated in 1992. ... These are the astrological glyphs as most commonly used in Western Astrology A glyph is a carved figure or character, incised or in relief; a carved pictograph; hence, a pictograph representing a form originally adopted for sculpture, whether carved or painted. ... Roman type has two separate meanings in typography, both of which refer to the fact that the capital letters of a Roman font have an appearance similar to those used for lettering stone in Ancient Rome. ... Sample text in Computer Modern Computer Modern is the family of typefaces used by default by the typesetting program TeX. It was created by Donald Knuth with his METAFONT program, and was most recently updated in 1992. ...

Since the font shapes are defined by equations rather than directly-coded numbers, it is possible to treat parameters such as aspect ratio, font slant, stroke width, serif size, and so forth as input parameters in each glyph definition. Thus, by changing the definition of one of these parameters at one location in the METAFONT file, one can produce a consistent change throughout the entire font. Computer Modern Roman illustrates many uses of this feature; a typical T_EX installation includes a number of versions of the font in sizes from 5pt to 17pt, with the stroke widths the same in all sizes (rather than increasing as the font is scaled up) and aspect ratios widening in the smaller sizes for increased legibility. In addition, the Computer Modern typewriter and sans serif fonts are defined using essentially the same METAFONT file as the Roman font, but with different global parameters. In typography, serifs are the small features at the end of strokes within letters. ... These are the astrological glyphs as most commonly used in Western Astrology A glyph is a carved figure or character, incised or in relief; a carved pictograph; hence, a pictograph representing a form originally adopted for sculpture, whether carved or painted. ... Sample text in Computer Modern Computer Modern is the family of typefaces used by default by the typesetting program TeX. It was created by Donald Knuth with his METAFONT program, and was most recently updated in 1992. ... The TeX mascot, by Duane Bibby TEX, written as TeX in plain text, is a typesetting system created by Donald Knuth. ... Sample text in Computer Modern Computer Modern is the family of typefaces used by default by the typesetting program TeX. It was created by Donald Knuth with his METAFONT program, and was most recently updated in 1992. ... In typography, serifs are the small features at the end of strokes within letters. ...

Knuth started work on font creation software in 1977, and produced the first version of METAFONT in 1979. Due to shortcomings in the original METAFONT language, Knuth developed an entirely new METAFONT system in 1984, and it is this revised system that is used today. 1977 was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1977 calendar). ... This page refers to the year 1979. ... 1984 is a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

You can use METAFONT to render any kind of graphical output you wish, not just glyphs. However, MetaPost with its PostScript output is preferred for advanced illustrations. MetaPost is both a programming language and the only known interpreter of the MetaPost programming language. ... PostScript (PS) is a page description language used primarily in the electronic and desktop publishing areas. ...

METAFONT is most commonly invoked without a direct request from the user. DVI files can only contain references to typefaces, rather than the sets of raster or vector glyphs that other formats like PostScript allow. Consequently the glyphs in the typefaces need to be accessed whenever a request is made to view, print or convert a DVI file. Most T_EX distributions are configured so that any fonts not currently available at the required resolution are generated by calls to METAFONT. The typefaces are then stored for later reuse. DVI (DeVice Independent) is the output file format of the TeX typesetting program, designed by David R. Fuchs in 1979. ... Dots per inch (DPI) is a measure of printing resolution, in particular the number of individual dots of ink a printer or toner can produce within a linear one-inch space. ...

METAFONT can also be run interactively, and has commands for displaying on the screen the images it produces. Knuth has said that he uses METAFONT as a kind of desk calculator for solving complicated equations, though he now uses MetaPost for mathematical illustrations.

References

• Donald Knuth: METAFONT: The Program, Addison-Wesley 1986. ISBN 0-201-13438-1
• Donald Knuth: The METAFONTbook, Addison-Wesley 1986. ISBN 0-201-13444-6

Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth (born January 10, 1938) is a renowned computer scientist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. ... Donald Knuth Donald Ervin Knuth (born January 10, 1938) is a renowned computer scientist and professor emeritus at Stanford University. ...

External links

• http://www.ctan.org/tex-archive/systems/knuth/mf/mfbook.tex - Donald Knuth's METAFONTbook, freely available on his FTP server in T_EX format.
• http://metafont.tutorial.free.fr/ - The METAFONT Tutorial: an online guide to using METAFONT.
• http://jeff.cs.mcgill.ca/~luc/metafont.html - Exhaustive collection of links relating to fonts and meta-fonts