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Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

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Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#31

Post by benwr »

userbinator wrote: post #26
jstimpfle wrote: post #9

> This monitor has a lot of pixels by decade-ago standards, but its pixel density leaves much to be desired by today standards. I have accidentally become accustomed to crisp, small fonts by a couple of years of using an old Retina Macbook. Bitmap fonts are better at this than scalable fonts, especially on screens with low pixel density. IMO these are all the right reasons. I also suffer from a bad purchase: 27" Full…

What's not to like about the default font that comes with xterm (6x13 size)? That's one of my favourites too --- the only "what's not to like" about it is the nonslashed zero, but that's easily fixed with a suitable font or even hex editor. There is a 5x7 in the same family, but I find it too small for regular use; on the other hand, it looks much like the standard font on embedded systems' character LCDs, which are…

I confess that I did not know about the 5x7 variant - I'll check it out.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#32

Post by userbinator »

cyphar wrote: post #20
stuaxo wrote: post #4

Now we just need an IDE that runs in mode 0x13 320x200 VGA.

Another bitmap, programming font I really like is Dina[1]. It's MIT licensed (though this isn't mentioned on the home page). [1]: https://www.donationcoder.com/Software/Jibz/Dina/

I can see the point of licenses on vector fonts containing nontrivial characters with many complex shapes etc., but at these small pixel sizes it seems like a bit of a fool's errand to talk about licensing/IP at all --- e.g. there's only so many ways to put pixels on a 6x13 grid and make it look recognisable as the letter 'M'. Hence all these small bitmapped fonts are extremely similar, with only slight variations in things like serifs/lack thereof, slashed zero/plain zero/rounded zero/etc. --- which are themselves a handful of pixels' difference. They all look almost like xterm6x13, which is public domain.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#34

Post by benwr »

itomato wrote: post #33

Nice work, but I'll take SGI's "Screen" font over this one any time.

Wow, that's an awesome one I hadn't seen! The best way to get recommendations on HN seems to be "make an approximation of the thing you want - others will point you to the version that you should have made"

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#35

Post by taneq »

I don't understand what the employer thinks they're gaining by making you work with two small monitors. I mean they're saving, what, $500? They'd recoup that amount in productivity gains within a week, tops.

Forcing your employees to use blunt saws when sharp saws are cheap is the most shortsighted of false economies.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#36

Post by spdustin »

benwr wrote: post #34
itomato wrote: post #33

Nice work, but I'll take SGI's "Screen" font over this one any time.

Wow, that's an awesome one I hadn't seen! The best way to get recommendations on HN seems to be "make an approximation of the thing you want - others will point you to the version that you should have made"

This has got to be one of the most refreshingly positive responses to a backhanded compliment I've ever seen. Well done!

No offense to GP. I know "backhanded compliment" seems like a loaded phrase, but I use it for the sake of expediency.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#37

Post by white-flame »

I use a standard vector font in small size, around 5x8 pixels. The inherent antialiasing can give far more visual information cues than just pure binary bitmaps. The high-frequency edges of small bitmap characters are also much harsher, making AA vector fonts easier to look at.

https://i.imgur.com/51qOPv4.png

(Liberation Mono, 6pt, greyscale antialiasing, no hinting, default 96dpi setting)

Explore your available fonts to see which happens to scale down reasonably. Make sure to disable font hinting when using vector fonts at small sizes. Hinting absolutely destroys the shapes at those sizes, as the ~1 pixel fudging that lines get is massive relative to the glyph size of just a handful of pixels.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#38

Post by benwr »

white-flame wrote: post #37

I use a standard vector font in small size, around 5x8 pixels. The inherent antialiasing can give far more visual information cues than just pure binary bitmaps. The high-frequency edges of small bitmap characters are also much harsher, making AA vector fonts easier to look at. https://i.imgur.com/51qOPv4.png (Liberation Mono, 6pt, greyscale antialiasing, no hinting, default 96dpi setting) Explore your available font…

I understand this position, but I don't agree that that screenshot is easier to read than a bitmap font - the fuzziness really bothers my eyes.

Re: Show HN: Glean, a tiny bitmap font for programming

#39

Post by benwr »

taneq wrote: post #35

I don't understand what the employer thinks they're gaining by making you work with two small monitors. I mean they're saving, what, $500? They'd recoup that amount in productivity gains within a week, tops. Forcing your employees to use blunt saws when sharp saws are cheap is the most shortsighted of false economies.

There's no force involved - the gains of a slightly higher-res monitor aren't worth the $500, even just to me personally. It was worth the time and the (negative cost of) learning, though!
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