[XeTeX] XITS Math font - first beata

[wodzicki at math.berkeley.edu]

> On 2010-06-05 11:40:28 +0930,
> wodzicki at math.berkeley.edu said:
>
>> On the other hand, with
>>
>> \setmathfont{XITS Math}
>> \setmainfont[Numbers=OldStyle,Mapping=tex-text]{STIXGeneral}
>>
>> I get improved STIX in Math, and the regular STIX in text with *no* Old
>> Style figures, plus unnecesssary duplication of fonts (as XITS Math is
>> just improved STIXGeneral upright Roman), but with 'fontspec'
>> recognizing
>> that for italic and bold it has to look up the corresponding 'Italic'
>> and
>> 'Bold' font files.
>
>
> I have an alternative suggestion :)
> Instead of trying to use STIX Math as a text font, let's leave it doing
> what it does best and instead use a matching Times-clone for the text.
> This is what I would recommend:
>
> \setmainfont[
>     Extension=.otf,
>     UprightFont=*-regular,
>     ItalicFont=*-italic,
>     BoldFont=*-bold,
>     BoldItalicFont=*-bolditalic,
>     Numbers=OldStyle,
>     Mapping=tex-text
>   ]{texgyretermes}
> \setmathfont{XITS Math}
>
> (If you install TeX Gyre Terms in your system then you don't need the
> long-winded \setmainfont options.)
>
> When you think about it, it doesn't exactly make sense to try and use
> STIX as a text font -- the bold and italic letters and kerning will
> have been designed for maths use, not text. And while they *can*
> function acceptably in text, TeX Gyre Termes is specifically a text
> font and has excellent glyph coverage.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Will

I read your answer to my post as an admission that STIXGeneral, which
covers actually all the usual 'text' blocks of the Unicode is not really
suitable for text? Is it really so? My naive perhaps perception was that
STIXGeneral was not just a 'Math' font but a complete font that was
expected to be used for both text and Math.

Why then bother about designing 'OldStyle' figures in XITS Math? My
understanding is that one uses them exclusively in the text -- not in the
Math mode. Or there is a provision somewhere in 'unicode-math' for them to
be used also in Math? (if there is one, I haven't found it)

Mariusz Wodzicki