Re: patch -- fix resolution in pango (win32 backend)

[Tor Lillqvist <tml iki fi>]

Joaquin Cuenca Abela writes:
 > Because WYSIWYG programs want to use the same font/same
 > typographical size on screen and on the printer.

Don't all such programs have a "view at X %" setting? 

 > Because you don't want to redo every document, every
 > presentation, every whatever that uses fonts for each
 > screen size that you have.

I don't understand you here. Fonts for each screen size? With
scaleable fonts, isn't the rendering of font outlines into pixels
on-demand, in the background?

 > Because nobody cares (but highly specialized software,
 > as CAD programs) about the real physical size.

And what says nobody would want to use GTK+ in a CAD program?

 > You just want your stuff to render with the same number of
 > pixels independently of your screen/resolution 

Certainly not. One 21" display might be running at 1024x768 (because
of a crappy graphics card, very long cable, or something), another 21"
display might have 1900x1200. If you use both displays at the same
viewing distance, surely you want icon labels, for instance, to look
about the same size. Not the same number of pixels.

 > Because you want gtk+ apps render text at the same size as any
 > other windows application.

But what prevents you from telling the gtk+ app to render text at the
size you prefer? What is so bad if you can specify the size in true
units? (And not "points, with approximately 30 to 40 percent added".)

 > You can not ask wordprocessors, for instance, to render text on
 > screen at 16points, and then on the printer at 10points.

No. If I want text to print in 10 points, I can ask the application it
to display the document at 140% of its true size, for instance.

BTW, anybody know where Windows gets the HORZSIZE and VERTSIZE from?
Does it simply use some hardcoded "common" dpi value to deduce them
from the HORZRES and VERTRES? Or is there some way for a driver to
tell Windows the monitor size, if the driver knows what model the
monitor is? Can a plug-and-play monitor tell the host its true size?
Can a digitally connected flat panel display?

If these values are just guesses, there probably should be a feature
in GDK so the user can provide the size of a screen. Either via
environment variables, command-line switches, or maybe some file.

--tml