[XeTeX] \font syntax

[Jonathan Kew]

On 31 Jul 2007, at 2:25 pm, Hans Hagen wrote:

> Jonathan Kew wrote:
>
>> As I mentioned, XeTeX used to do this, but I'm not entirely convinced
>> it's a good idea. E.g., error messages may be less confusing if it's
>> clear which kind of font (or search) is being requested. But I'm
>> interested to hear what people think.... anyone else with opinions on
>> this?
>
> \xetexfontlookupmethod=<number> -)

Yes, that would be a possibility. Then macro writers such as yourself  
could pick the method you prefer.

Another thing I've sometimes considered is an extended \XeTeXfont  
command with optional keyword-argument pairs:

   \XeTeXfont\serp = "Serpentine" renderer "ICU" mapping "tex-text"
       features "+smcp;+onum;-liga" slant "0.2" at 12pt % etc

as an alternative to packing everything into the "filename" that  
\font expects. We already have the "scaled" and "at" keywords for the  
\font command, but why not extend this to cover more aspects of  
instantiating a font?

JK