pango layout size question

[Chris Casinghino <chris casinghino gmail com>]

Hi all,

I have a basic question about scaling text with pango.  I have a small
fragment of text (less than 8 characters) and I must fit it into a
particular square region of a GdkDrawable.  I know the size of this
area in pixels.

I'd like to create a PangoLayout that makes the text as big as
possible while still fitting in this area.  What's the best way to do
this?  I see the font size of a pango context can be adjusted, but I
don't know how to calculate the right font size from the bounding
region for my string (short of trying a bunch of different font
sizes).

Some particulars: My font is fixed (but I am happy to adjust its
size).  The characters are allowed to flow over two lines (i.e., the
word wrap mode is PANGO_WRAP_CHAR.  Currently I am drawing the layout
directly to a drawable with gdk_draw_layout.  So, I'm not using Cairo
at all now, but if there is something there that can help me I'd love
to hear about it.

Thanks for your help!

--Chris