I need to pick an extension for the bitmap-only SFNT fonts[1]. While
these fonts use the same file format as TrueType and OpenType fonts,
they do not fullfill the requirements of any of the four (!) TrueType
specifications. Apple calls them ``sfnt-wrapped bitmap fonts'',
pfaedit calls them ``bitmap-only TTF fonts'', and Microsoft do not
call them at all. These fonts are refused by Windows XP.
Because users expect files with a ttf or otf extension to contain
scalable fonts, they need to have a different extension. Such fonts
are used by Apple (who do not use file extensions), but not by
Microsoft (who do); hence, I believe I need to pick a new one.
I suggest they should have the extension ``.sfnt'', with ``.sfn''
being recognised for compatibility with 8+3 systems.
Opinions collected so far:
- David Dawes doesn't have an opinion either way, but he'd like me to
consult with this list first.
- Egbert Eich would prefer ``.sfn'' to be the default, as he
believes this will lessen his support load. (He's probably right,
but I dislike making MS-DOS the default.)
I'll probably submit code to handle the new extension these next days,
and would be glad to hear from you as soon as possible.
Juliusz
[1] http://www.pps.jussieu.fr/~jch/software/xfree86-bitmap-fonts.html
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