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Constructing a TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script with Unicode Characters using the Graphite Rendering System presented by Stephen E Slevinski Jr in association with the Center for Sutton Movement Writing

SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

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Presented Live Online July 22, 2014 on Google Hangouts and YouTube. Go to the SignWriting YouTube Channel: http://www.YouTube.com/SignWriting. Visit the SignWriting Symposium Presentation 19 web page to read abstracts and papers, and watch videos and slides by Stephen Slevinski: signwriting.org/symposium/presentation0019.html ABSTRACT Constructing a TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script with Unicode Characters Using the Graphite Rendering System by Stephen E. Slevinski, Jr., Software Developer of SignPuddle, SWIS, & Sign Language Wikipedias, www.signpuddle.net This paper is based on TrueType Font development by Eduardo Trápani. SignWriting is a complex script that requires 2-dimensional placement of glyphs. Graphite is a special rendering system that enhances TrueType Fonts with special rules to support complex scripts. Using FontForge, a TrueType Font was created that works with Graphite to support the 2-dimensional nature of the SignWriting script. The use of a locally installed font eliminates the need of server side generated images, reducing network traffic and allowing for users to work offline without an internet connection. The font has several issues to resolve before it is production ready, but demonstrates the future possibilities. Two web pages that display some symbols in Chrome: http://programoj.esperanto.org.uy/sw/mini.html http://programoj.esperanto.org.uy/sw/Main_page_2.html

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Page 1: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Constructing a TrueType Fontfor the SignWriting Scriptwith Unicode Characters

using the Graphite Rendering System

presented by Stephen E Slevinski Jrin association with the Center for Sutton Movement

Writing

Page 2: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

SignWriting Text

GraphiteUnicode Font Forge

SignWriting Script

Is it possible to have a client side TrueType Font for SignWriting?

Symbol Font

Page 3: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Outline

1. Background

2. Motivation

3. Quality

4. Future

Page 4: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

1. Background

• Symbol Font

• Unicode Private Use Area

• FontForge

• Graphite

Page 5: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Symbol Font

• 37,811 symbols

• Combined Character Sequence

• 674 Characters

International SignWriting Alphabet

ISWA 2010

http://signbank.org/iswa/

ISWA 2010 HTML Reference

Page 6: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Unicode Private Use Area

• Characters for symbols

• Characters for structural markers

• Number characters

Page 7: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

FontForge Import• Naming Convention:

u1D800_u1DA8C_u1DA92.svg

• Martin Hosken’s symbol import prototype

• Eduardo Trápani’s symbol import and space control

http://fontforge.org/

Page 8: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Graphite

• Smart Font Technology

• Graphite Description Language (GDL)

• Coordinate Characters

http://graphite.sil.org/

Page 9: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

2. Motivation

• Client Side - download font and install

• No Server Required

• Complex Script

• User Arrangement

Page 10: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Client Side

• iswa.ttf, 6.1 MB

• Enable Graphite in Firefox

• Github Source

download font and install

http://signpuddle.net/iswa/

ISWA 2010 Font Reference

Page 11: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

No Server Required

• SVG Images from Server

• Wikimedia Labs Project

• Github Source

http://swis.wmflabs.org

Page 12: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Complex Script

• 2-Dimensional Positioning

• Unpredictable Placement

• Coordinate Characters

Page 13: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

User Arrangement

• Exact positioning

• Any sign is possible

• No gatekeepers

• No waiting

Page 14: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

3. Quality

• Entire ISWA 2010

• Real 2-dimensional placement

• Fuzzy depending on setup

• Fill issues

• Crashing

Page 15: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 16: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 17: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 18: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 19: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 20: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

Font ComparisonsTrueType Font SVG

Page 21: SIGNWRITING SYMPOSIUM PRESENTATION 19: TrueType Font for the SignWriting Script by Stephen E. Slevinski Jr

4. Future

• Symbol Quality

• 2-Color Font

• Margin Issues

Further font development