[XeTeX] openType and xetex

[Adam Twardoch (List)]

Youcef is right:
AFIR, XeTeX supports three layout engines:
* ICU Layout, cross platform, working with OT Layout tables in SFNT fonts
* Graphite, cross-platform, working with Graphite tables in SFNT fonts
* ATT, Mac OS X only, working with OT Layout tables and AAT tables in SFNT fonts.

I don't remember whether XeTeX in addition also supports Uniscribe on Windows.

Given the fact that XeTeX is already set up to handle multiple layout engines, it would be relatively easy to add support for more -- especially to add support for Harfbuzz. I would applaud if anyone volunteered to do that (Harfbuzz has sample code that shows you how). It'd be particularly neat since Harfbuzz itself also supports several backends, in particular it supports Uniscribe on Windows. So if XeTeX does not currently support Uniscribe, adding Harfbuzz support would also cheaply add Uniscribe support. Harfbuzz also has Graphite2 support so the old direct Graphite support in XeTeX could be replaced or complemented with Harfbuzz+Graphite2.

XeTeX would be seriously improved if Harfbuzz support were added. 

Best,
Adam

Sent from my mobile phone.

On 28.06.2012, at 17:50, Khaled Hosny <khaledhosny at eglug.org> wrote:

> I suspect it might be the same issue.
> 
> Regards,
> Khaled
> 
> On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 05:00:26PM +0200, Dominik Wujastyk wrote:
>> Khaled,
>> 
>> Is this the same problem that Zdenek and I have been discussing recently in
>> relation to ligatures in the Devanagari script?  I.e., the ICU from 2009 worked
>> fine, but subsequent releases didn't? 
>> 
>> Dominik
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On 28 June 2012 16:27, Khaled Hosny <khaledhosny at eglug.org> wrote:
>> 
>>    On Thu, Jun 28, 2012 at 10:10:56AM +0100, Youcef Mohammed wrote:
>>> (...)fast quik rapid
>>> Windows is not Apple!!!
>>> The font in question is not Graphite font...!!!
>>> (serious)
>>> -it seem that the problem is with the "mkmk" (mark-to-mark)
>>    positionning...
>> 
>>    No, mkmk is working fine, but there is a problem with contextual
>>    chaining substitution lookups, it have been buggy for years and there is
>>    a ICU bug ticket for it, but I can't find it right now.
>> 
>>    Regards,
>>     Khaled
>> 
>> 
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