Public bug reported: This is a request to backport the simple two-line fix for Java Bug JDK-8212071 to OpenJDK 11. Doing so will correct a very visible font error that has persisted in the OpenJDK since its beginning. The bug is best described on the page below. Scroll down to the first set of Font Demo screenshots for a quick view of the problem in the "Before" and "After" images.
OpenJDK FreeType Font Fix https://github.com/jgneff/openjdk-freetype The page above links to the official report in the Java Bug System: Need to set the FreeType LCD Filter to reduce fringing https://bugs.openjdk.java.net/browse/JDK-8212071 The consequences of this bug have been far-reaching. It's one of the reasons why JetBrains created their own fork of the JDK to included in IntelliJ IDEA [1]; why we have popular forks of the JDK just to fix the fonts on Ubuntu [2]; and why the snap for NetBeans 10 now ships with sub-pixel rendering entirely disabled by default [3], reverting to grayscale anti-aliasing. Personally it's why, after programming in Java since 1996, I was ready to abandon the platform completely for any other alternative that could simply get the fonts right -- Python and Qt, Dart and Flutter, JavaScript and Electron, anything. Worse yet, the exact same problem existed in JavaFX as well, but for entirely different reasons [4]. That made it appear as if this was some font problem intrinsic to Java itself. Instead, they were both the most trivial of bugs that nonetheless persisted for years, making Java look terrible on Ubuntu or any other Debian-based distribution. I wonder how many others just walked away -- from NetBeans, from JavaFX, from Java -- in silence. Let's fix this. I don't think we can wait until OpenJDK 12. Let me know if I can help in any way. Thank you, John [1] https://github.com/JetBrains/jdk8u_jdk [2] https://launchpad.net/~no1wantdthisname/+archive/ubuntu/openjdk-fontfix [3] https://cwiki.apache.org/confluence/display/NETBEANS/Font+Rendering+Issues [4] https://github.com/javafxports/openjdk-jfx/issues/229 ** Affects: openjdk-lts (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1815119 Title: Backport critical JDK-8212071 font fix to OpenJDK 11 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/openjdk-lts/+bug/1815119/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
