reads the program in the specified files and outputs font rasters (in gf format) and font metrics (in tfm format). The language is described in The book.
Like , is normally used with a large body of precompiled macros, and font generation in particular requires the support of several macro files. This version of looks at its command line to see what name it was called under. Both inimf and virmf are symlinks to the mf executable. When called as inimf (or when the --ini option is given) it can be used to precompile macros into a .base file. When called as virmf it will use the plain base. When called under any other name, will use that name as the name of the base to use. For example, when called as mf the mf base is used, which is identical to the plain base. Other bases than plain are rarely used.
The commands given on the command line to the program are passed to it as the first input line. (But it is often easier to type extended arguments as the first input line, since UNIX shells tend to gobble up or misinterpret 's favorite symbols, like semicolons, unless you quote them.) As described in The book, that first line should begin with a filename, a \controlsequence, or a &basename.
The normal usage is to say
to start processing font.mf. The single quotes are the best way of keeping the Unix shell from misinterpreting the semicolons and from removing the \ character, which is needed here to keep from thinking that you want to produce a font called mode. (Or you can just say mf and give the other stuff on the next line, without quotes.) Other control sequences, such as batchmode (for silent operation) can also appear. The name font will be the ``jobname'', and is used in forming output file names. If doesn't get a file name in the first line, the jobname is mfput. The default extension, .mf, can be overridden by specifying an extension explicitly.
A log of error
messages goes into the file jobname.log. The output files are jobname.tfm
and jobname.<number>gf, where <number> depends on the resolution and magnification
of the font. The mode in this example is shown generically as <printengine>,
a symbolic term for which the name of an actual device or, most commonly,
the name localfont (see below) must be substituted. If the mode is not specified
or is not valid for your site, will default to proof mode which produces
large character images for use in font design and refinement. Proof mode
can be recognized by the suffix .2602gf after the jobname. Examples of proof
mode output can be found in Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers
and Typesetting). The system of magsteps is identical to the system used
by , with values generally in the range 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0. A listing
of gf numbers for 118-dpi, 240-dpi and 300-dpi fonts is shown below.
MAGSTEP118 dpi240 dpi300 dpi mag=magstep(0)118240300 mag=magstep(0.5)129263329 mag=magstep(1)142288360 mag=magstep(2)170346432 mag=magstep(3)204415518 mag=magstep(4)245498622 mag=magstep(5)294597746 Magnification can also be specified not as a magstep but as an arbitrary value, such as 1.315, to create special character sizes. Before font production can begin, it is necessary to set up the appropriate base files. The minimum set of components for font production for a given print-engine is the plain.mfmacro file and the local mode_deffile. The macros in plain.mfcan be studied in an appendix to the book;they were developed by Donald E. Knuth, and this file should never be altered except when it is officially upgraded. Each mode_defspecification helps adapt fonts to a particular print-engine. There is a regular discussion of mode_defsin TUGboat,the journal of the Users Group. The local ones in use on this computer should be in modes.mf. The eresponse to 's error-recovery mode invokes the system default editor at the erroneous line of the source file. There is an environment variable, MFEDIT, that overrides the default editor. It should contain a string with "%s" indicating where the filename goes and "%d" indicating where the decimal linenumber (if any) goes. For example, an MFEDIT string for the vieditor can be set with the cshcommand setenv MFEDIT "vi +%d %s" A convenient file in the library is null.mf,containing nothing. When mfcan't find the file it thinks you want to input, it keeps asking you for another file name; responding `null' gets you out of the loop if you don't want to input anything. Online Graphics Output can use most modern displays, so you can see its output without printing. Chapter 23 of The book describes what you can do. This implementation of uses environment variables to determine which display device you want to use. First it looks for a variable MFTERM, and then for TERM. If it can't find either, you get no online output. Otherwise, the value of the variable determines the device to use: hp2627, sun (for old SunView), tek, uniterm (for an Atari ST Tek 4014 emulator), xterm (for either X10 or X11). Some of these devices may not be supported in all executables; the choice is made at compilation time. On some systems, there are two binaries, mf and mfw. On those systems the mfw binary supports graphics, while the mf binary does not. OptionsThis version of understands the following command line options. --base base Use base as the name of the base to be used, instead of the name by which was called or a %& line. --file-line-error-style Print error messages in the form file:line:error which is similar to the way many compilers format them. --help Print help message and exit. --ini Be inimf, for dumping bases; this is implicitly true if the program is called as inimf. --interaction mode Sets the interaction mode. The mode can be one of batchmode, nonstopmode, scrollmode, and errorstopmode. The meaning of these modes is the same as that of the corresponding commands. --jobname name Use name for the job name, instead of deriving it from the name of the input file. --kpathsea-debug bitmask Sets path searching debugging flags according to the bitmask. See the Kpathsea manual for details. --maketex fmt Enable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf. --no-maketex fmt Disable mktexfmt, where fmt must be mf. --parse-first-line If the first line of the main input file begins with %& parse it to look for a dump name or a --translate-file option. --progname name Pretend to be program name. This affects both the format used and the search paths. --recorder Enable the filename recorder. This leaves a trace of the files opened for input and output in a file with extension .fls. --translate-file tcxname Use the tcxname translation table. --version Print version information and exit. EnvironmentSee the Kpathsearch library documentation (the `Path specifications' node) for the details of how the environment variables are use when searching. The kpsewhich utility can be used to query the values of the variables. If the environment variable TEXMFOUTPUT is set, attempts to put its output files in it, if they cannot be put in the current directory. Again, see tex(1). MFINPUTS Search path for input and openin files. MFEDIT Command template for switching to editor. MFTERM Determines the online graphics display. If MFTERM is not set, and DISPLAY is set, the Metafont window support for X is used. (DISPLAY must be set to a valid X server specification, as usual.) If neither MFTERM nor DISPLAY is set, TERM is used to guess the window support to use. Font UtilitiesA number of utility programs are available. The following is a partial list of available utilities and their purpose. Consult your local guru for details. gftopk Takes a gf file and produces a more tightly packed pk font file. gftodvi Produces proof sheets for fonts. gftype Displays the contents of a gf file in mnemonics and/or images. pktype Mnemonically displays the contents of a pk file. mft Formats a source file as shown in Computer Modern Typefaces. Filesmf.pool Encoded text of 's messages. *.base Predigested base files. $TEXMFMAIN/metafont/base/plain.mf The standard base. $TEXMFMAIN/metafont/misc/modes.mf The file of mode_defs for your site's various printers Suggested ReadingDonald E. Knuth, The book (Volume C of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13445-4. Donald E. Knuth, : The Program (Volume D of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13438-1. Donald E. Knuth, Computer Modern Typefaces (Volume E of Computers and Typesetting), Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13446-2. TUGboat (the journal of the Users Group). CommentsWarning: ``Type design can be hazardous to your other interests. Once you get hooked, you will develop intense feelings about letterforms; the medium will intrude on the messages that you read. And you will perpetually be thinking of improvements to the fonts that you see everywhere, especially those of your own design.'' See Alsogftopk(1), gftodvi(1), gftype(1), mft(1), pltotf(1), tftopl(1). BugsOn January 4, 1986 the ``final'' bug in was discovered and removed. If an error still lurks in the code, Donald E. Knuth promises to pay a finder's fee which doubles every year to the first person who finds it. Happy hunting. Authors was designed by Donald E. Knuth, who implemented it using his system for Pascal programs. It was originally ported to Unix by Paul Richards at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. This page was mostly written by Pierre MacKay.