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3.3 SYMBOLSETS
Let’s summarizebriefly,to putthe subjectof symbolsetsin context.
The attributesof a font determinewhatthat font will looklike when it is
printed. We covered all but orientationat the start of this chapter, and
orientationin the lastchapter.A font’sattributesinclude:
orientation(portraitor landscape)
symbol
set(whichwe’lllookat next)
spacing(monospacedor proportional)
pitch(10 or16.66charactersperinch,forexample)
fontheight(measuredin points)
style(uprightor italics)
strokeweight(light,mediumor bold)
typeface(LinePrinter,Courierand so on)
Thoughthey are not font attributes,such printingfeaturesas subscripts,
superscriptsandunderliningare treatedalongwithfontsin the following
chaptm. Each emulationhas its own wayof providingthesefeatures.
Incidentally,the bestwayto underlineis to use theunderlinecommandin
theemulationyou areusing,insteadof backspacingandoverprintingwith
theseparateunderlinecharacter(-). If youdothelatterwithproportionally
spacedtext,you’llusuallyfind theunderliningis toolongfor thetext.
3.3.1 Whatare symbolsets?
Keyboardsdifferfromcountrytocountry,TheBritishneedtheirf symbol,
thqFrenchneedtheirqand6,theSpanishneedtheir~andfietc.Scientists
needparticularmathematicalsignstoo.ThereeasilycouIdbefourhundred
or morepossiblesymbolsfor anygivenfont.
However,the numberof symbolsprintersstorefor a fontislimitedto 256
slots,asinASCII.Sosomesymbols,ortheorderofsomesymbols,candiffer
in anyfont.Eachuniqueselectionandarrangementof symbolsis a symbol
set (sometimescalleda “graphicset”or “characterset”).
The symbolat position91 for exampleis an openbracket,[ , in the usual
ASCIIsymbolset.ButthesamepositionhoIdsA(capitalAwithanumlaut)
in theGermansymbolset.
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