fontname mapping file for TeX

[karl@cs.umb.edu (Karl Berry)]

I received this in mail directed to me, and thought it worthy of
resending to the list.  My reply appears below the message.


Date:     Tue, 19 Mar 91  16:53 EST
From: CSCMLV%CCNYVME.BITNET@CUNYVM.CUNY.EDU
Subject:  fontname mapping file for TeX
To: karl@cs (Karl Berry)

Here is an alternative way for achieving the substitution. VTeX implements
an \aliasfont primitive. After

     \aliasfont cmr10 = adobe-times

all references to cmr10 are replaced by adobe-times. This mechanism offers
two advantages over a text substitution file:

1)  It's dynamic (\aliasfont settings can be saved in a .FMT file).
2)  Versions of TeX that implement alterations can use \aliasfont to
    map unneeded fonts. For example, in VTeX you can set

    \aliasfont cmsl10 = cmr10 slant 233

and discard cmsl10 altogether.



(Karl now)
This is true, but there is one giant disadvantage to adding \aliasfont
-- the result is no longer `TeX', since it's not 100% compatible.
It might be worth adding in concert with other new features, but not by
itself.

Also, an alias file still addresses the problem at the \font
name-filename level.  This is somewhat different from \aliasfont's uses
(as stated above).