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MF
!!!MF
NAME
SYNOPSIS
DESCRIPTION
ONLINE GRAPHICS OUTPUT
OPTIONS
ENVIRONMENT
FONT UTILITIES
FILES
SUGGESTED READING
COMMENTS
SEE ALSO
BUGS
AUTHORS
----
!!NAME


mf, mfw, inimf, virmf - Metafont, a language for font and logo design
!!SYNOPSIS


__mf__ [[''options''] [[''commands'']
!!DESCRIPTION


This manual page is not meant to be exhaustive. The complete
documentation for this version of TEX can be found in the
info file or manual ''Web2C: A TeX
implementation''.


M ETAFONT reads the program in the specified
files and outputs font rasters (in ''gf'' format) and
font metrics (in ''tfm'' format). The M
ETAFONT language is described in ''The M
ETAFONT book''.


Like TEX, M ETAFONT 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 M ETAFONT 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, M
ETAFONT 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 M
ETAFONT 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 M ETAFONT 's
favorite symbols, like semicolons, unless you quote them.)
As described in ''The M ETAFONT book'',
that first line should begin with a filename, a
\''controlsequence'', or a
''''.


The normal usage is to say


__mf__ 'mode=
__n'');]' input ''font''


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 M ETAFONT 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 M ETAFONT
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'''', where
''mode'' in this example is shown
generically as
''localfont'' (see below) must be substituted. If
the mode is not specified or is not valid for your site, M
ETAFONT 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 TEX,
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.


          MAGSTEP        118 dpi   240 dpi   300 dpi
mag=magstep(0)       118       240       300
mag=magstep(0.5)     129       263       329
mag=magstep(1)       142       288       360
mag=magstep(2)       170       346       432
mag=magstep(3)       204       415       518
mag=magstep(4)       245       498       622
mag=magstep(5)       294       597       746
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.mf'' macro file and the local ''mode_def''
file. The macros in ''plain.mf'' can be studied in an
appendix to the ''M ETAFONT book''; they
were developed by Donald E. Knuth, and this file should
never be altered except when it is officially upgraded. Each
''mode_def'' specification helps adapt fonts to a
particular print-engine. There is a regular discussion of
''mode_def''s in ''TUGboat'', the journal of the TEX
Users Group. The local ones in use on this computer should
be in ''modes.mf''.


The ''e'' response to M ETAFONT '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
vi__ editor can be set with the
__csh__ command


''setenv MFEDIT ''


A convenient file in the library is ''null.mf'',
containing nothing. When __mf__ can'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


M ETAFONT can use most modern displays, so
you can see its output without printing. Chapter 23 of
''The M ETAFONT book'' describes what you
can do. This implementation of M ETAFONT 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 M
ETAFONT executables; the choice is made at
compilation time.


On some systems, there are two M ETAFONT
binaries, __mf__ and __mfw__. On those systems the
__mfw__ binary supports graphics, while the __mf__
binary does not.
!!OPTIONS


This version of M ETAFONT 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 M ETAFONT 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.


__--kpathsea-debug__ ''bitmask''


Sets path searching debugging flags according to the
bitmask. See the ''Kpathsea'' manual for
details.


__--maketex__ ''fmt''


Enable mktex''fmt'', where ''fmt'' must be
''mf''.


__--no-maketex__ ''fmt''


Disable mktex''fmt'', where ''fmt'' must be
''mf''.


__--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.
!!ENVIRONMENT


See 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, M
ETAFONT 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 UTILITIES


A number of utility programs are available. The following is
a partial list of available utilities and their purpose.
Consult your local M ETAFONT 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''.
!!FILES


''mf.pool''


Encoded text of M ETAFONT 's
messages.


''*.base''


Predigested M ETAFONT base
files.


''$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/base/plain.mf''


The standard base.


''$TEXMFMAIN/metafont/misc/modes.mf''


The file of ''mode_def''s for your site's various
printers
!!SUGGESTED READING


Donald E. Knuth, ''The M ETAFONT book''
(Volume C of ''Computers and Typesetting''),
Addison-Wesley, 1986, ISBN 0-201-13445-4.
Donald E. Knuth, ''M ETAFONT : 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 TEX Users
Group).
!!COMMENTS


Warning: ``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 ALSO


gftopk(1), gftodvi(1), gftype(1),
mft(1), pltotf(1),
tftopl(1).
!!BUGS


On January 4, 1986 the ``final'' bug in M
ETAFONT 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


M ETAFONT was designed by Donald E. Knuth,
who implemented it using his W EB 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.
----
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Last edited on Tuesday, June 4, 2002 12:22:20 am by "perry"
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