[twg-tds] structure below texmf/doc/fonts -- RFC

[Walter Schmidt]

Hi,

it seems to me if the TDS structure below texmf/doc/fonts is
not defined sufficiently well.

For instance, TeXLive simply has one directory per font
family below doc/fonts.  I have been following this layout
in collections such as the Bera fonts (CTAN:fonts/bera),
where the documentaton resides simply in doc/fonts/bera, 
but I noticed that one ends up with really too many
subdirectories below doc/fonts, as soon as a fair amount of
extra font families, e.g., commercial ones, is installed.
Besides, you run into trouble as far as the subdirectory
names are concerned, when you install different
digitizations of the same typeface family from different
vendors.  (For instance, I have both the free Bitstream 
Charter and Linotype Charter onmy PC.)

On my own TeX system and in the collections distributed from
CTAN:fonts/metrics/w-a-schmidt, I have introduced a further
directory level <supplier> below doc/fonts.  For instance,
the documentation file lf9.txt for the LaTeX interface to
the font family Linotype Frutiger Next (lf9) is installed in
a directory named

  doc/fonts/linotype/ .

Further documentation files for other Linotype fonts may
exist in the same directory.  However, I was too
simple-minded, and this is still not sufficient under
general circumstances:

In many the cases the documentation consists of more than
one file only.  For instance, there can be a file describing
the origin and the license of the fonts, while another one
describes the TeX interface.  To keep them togeher, one
needs a further level <family> below <supplier>.  (At this
level, <family is unique!)

As a result, the required directory structure would be:

  doc/fonts/<supplier>/<family/>/
  
I suggest this as an addition or clarification to TDS;
notice that it does not contradict the present standard.

I'm looking forward to your comments

Walter

-- 
Walter Schmidt                             Erlangen, Germany
<http://home.vr-web.de/was/fonts>
------------------------------------------------------------