InitialHEADmaster

1 files changed, 121 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/mnicmp/readme.md b/mnicmp/readme.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e753b6d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/mnicmp/readme.md
@@ -0,0 +1,121 @@
+# mnicmp
+
+Stewart C. Russell - scruss.com
+2017-02
+
+a 7-pin dot matrix font based on the DECwriter II output, with some
+international characters added from the DECwriter III character set,
+and then some additional ones created by me.
+
+## Name
+
+Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) used to make minicomputers. The
+older ones of these only supported 6.2 file names, so the word
+‘minicomputer’ would have to be rendered as ‘mnicmp’.
+
+Few of them supported lower-case, so let's just skip that detail.
+
+## Coverage
+
+*Most* of ISO-8859-15, but not all of it. The DECwriter II only
+supported a subset of ASCII, and the DECwriter III added a very few
+European characters
+
+## Design Size
+
+If printed at 12 pt with no additional line spacing, you should match
+the DECwriter's 10 cpi horizontally and 6 lpi vertically.
+
+## Variants
+
+While the DECwriter only had one type style, I added more:
+
+* **Italic** — this is done by shearing the array of points and
+  replacing them with circular dots. Using a regular italicize
+  function produces ugly oval dots.
+  
+* **Bold** — this mimics double-striking, with the second character
+  offset ½ of the dot width. It looks better than it should.
+  
+* **Bold Italic** — skewed and double-struck.
+
+* **Light** and **Light Italic** — lightened the font by making the
+  circles smaller. As none of the dots overlap, this might make a
+  decent stencil font.
+
+Noticing that the dots could be arbitrary shapes, I got a bit carried
+away:
+
+* **Diamond-shaped dots** - the matrix is made of rounded diamonds
+  instead of circles. Also provided in italic.
+  
+* **Square dots** — very blocky indeed. Also provided in italic.
+
+* **Star-shaped dots** — exceedingly silly and twinkly. Would have
+  been a great way to punch holes in paper on a real dot matrix
+  printer. Also provided in italic.
+
+## Source
+
+Source to all fonts is included in FontForge format. The small Python
+program used to create the fonts from JSON data is also included. You
+may create your own new variants/characters **provided that** that you
+do *not* use the reserved name ‘mnicmp’.
+
+If you wish to make you own characters, the JSON structure is a
+hash/dictionary of dot bitmap arrays against unicode character:
+
+     chars = {
+              ...
+              'A':  ['...#...',
+                     '..#.#..',
+                     '.#...#.',
+                     '#.....#',
+                     '#.#.#.#',
+                     '#.....#',
+                     '#.....#'],
+              ...
+             }
+
+Everything that's a # counts as a dot; everything else is
+ignored. Character order doesn't matter.
+
+If you wish to preserve the original DECwriter look, remember that it
+couldn't have two adjacent horizontal pixels struck across a 7 pixel
+character. So the most pixels you can have struck across is character
+is 4 out of 7.
+
+## Licence
+
+Copyright © 2017, Stewart C. Russell (scruss.com),
+with Reserved Font Name mnicmp.
+
+This Font Software is licensed under the SIL Open Font Licence, Version 1.1.
+This licence is included, and is also available with a FAQ at:
+http://scripts.sil.org/OFL
+
+[I do not agree with SIL's missionary work in any way, and the use of
+this licence is in no way an endorsement of SIL.]
+
+## Reference
+
+* **ASCII char matrics** — LA36 DECwriter II Maintenance Manual,
+pub. Digital Equipment Corporation - Maynard, MA; First Edition,
+June 1975. Copyright © 1975 by Digital Equipment Corporation, part no
+EK-LA36-MM-001. URL:
+http://www.textfiles.com/bitsavers/pdf/dec/terminal/la36/EK-LA36-MM-001_LA36_DECwriter_II_Maintenance_Manual_Jul75.pdf. See
+Table 1-1 Standard ASCII Character Set and Code (p.1-2 - folio 15) 
+
+* **Intl char matrices, print sizes** — LA120 Technical Manual,
+Digital Equipment Corporation - Maynard, MA; First Edition,
+January 1980. Copyright © 1980 by Digital Equipment Corporation, part
+no EK-LA120-TM-001. URL:
+ftp://bitsavers.informatik.uni-stuttgart.de/www.computer.museum.uq.edu.au/pdf/EK-LA120-TM-001%20LA120%20Technical%20Manual.pdf. See
+Table 3-3 Code Differences Among National Character Sets (p.3-7  - folio 51)
+
+## Other cuts by other people
+
+*
+  [Sevenpins](http://fontstruct.com/fontstructions/show/1156146/sevenpins_1 "Sevenpins") is
+  also based on DECwriter matrices, but with different spacing.
+