font size, dpi and rendering in KDE and Gnome

[Dexter Filmore]

Am Dienstag, 3. Oktober 2006 19:35 schrieb Felix Miata:
> On 06/10/03 16:34 (GMT+0200) Dexter Filmore apparently typed:
> > Am Montag, 2. Oktober 2006 20:58 schrieb Felix Miata:
> >> Modern distros serve their own versions of X in varied ways. X is made
> >> up of several components, any of which can have its own idea what DPI is
> >> or is supposed to be. It's a complicated subject. That means no easy
> >> answer given limited facts, and likely no easy answer even given copious
> >> facts. It should work right out of the box, but often doesn't, sometimes
> >> because one person's idea of "works" is different from the distro maker.
> >
> > And no, it actually *is* simple: provide screen dimensions in xorg.conf
> > and use the resulting values systemwide, I don't see how this is
> > difficult.
>
> Probably should be, but it isn't, even though it does seem simple. DDC is
> available to give X the display size, but many displays either don't have
> DDC, or have a broken DDC implementation.

That's why I put screen dimensions in xorg.conf. I use a BNC cable, no DDC at 
all. No guessing, no false readings, exact data that I provided myself.
After all that's why we have that parameter in xorg.conf.


> X is made up from a number of 
> components by different groups of people having different ideas about how
> things should work. That means the pieces can't be trusted to play nice
> together. The distro makers generally try to do that, but there are a lot
> of complications, not the least of which is people who don't limit
> themselves to using only one display. Some people use multiple displays at
> once. Others, particularly laptop users, routinely switch among displays.
> There really are too many complications for me to list, not the least of
> which is different ideas by hardware makers about how things should work.
> But by investigating, you'll probably find yourself amazed that it works as
> well as it does for so many.

It's still one X. I don't see why developers just don't rely on the data. Even 
if the dpi indo was calculated wrong it wouldn't matter if any toolkit used 
the *same* wrong data. (In fact I'D prefer KDE using the GTK dpi info instead 
of the current, looks better...)

> > Strange, works on OSX and a certain otherwise looked down upon operating
> > system from Redmond.
>
> OSX is designed for a limited and well tested hardware set.

Limitied? I can attach any other display to a Mac. There's tons of various 
displays by Apple itself from the G3 machines to the intel Macs, from iMac 
over PowerBook over MacBook over PowerMac to MacPro from 12" over 14, 15, 17, 
widescreen variants to the cinema displays.

> M$ has hardware 
> manufacturers making dedicated drivers and installation software. Linux
> users enjoy none of those luxuries.

I don't see how the drivers affect how Windows renders the fonts. After all, 
it's graphics drivers. Plus, that's even a bigger stunt since this involves 
all sorts of 3rd party manufacturers. 
X.Org, GTK, KDE/QT are pretty monolithic.
 

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