3.3 SYMBOLSETS
Let’s summarizebriefly,toput thesubjectof symbolsets incontext.
The attributesofafont determinewhatthat fontwill looklike when itis
printed.We covered all but orientationat the start of this chapter, and
orientationinthe lastchapter.Afont’sattributesinclude:
orientation(portraitorlandscape)
symbolset(whichwe’lllook atnext)
spacing(monospacedorproportional)
pitch(10 or16.66charactersperinch,forexample)
fontheight (measuredinpoints)
style(uprightor italics)
strokeweight(light,medium orbold)
typeface(LinePrinter,Courierand soon)
Thoughthey are not font attributes,such printing featuresas subscripts,
superscriptsandunderliningaretreated alongwith fontsin the following
chaptm. Eachemulationhas itsown wayofprovidingthese features.
Incidentally,thebestway tounderlineisto use theunderlinecommandin
theemulationyou areusing,insteadof backspacingandoverprintingwith
theseparateunderlinecharacter(-).If you dothelatter withproportionally
spacedtext,you’ll usuallyfindtheunderliningis too longfor thetext.
3.3.1 Whatare symbolsets?
Keyboardsdifferfromcountrytocountry,TheBritishneed theirfsymbol,
thqFrenchneed theirqand6, theSpanishneedtheir ~andfietc. Scientists
needparticularmathematicalsignstoo.ThereeasilycouIdbefour hundred
ormore possiblesymbolsforany givenfont.
However,thenumberof symbolsprintersstorefor afont islimitedto 256
slots,asinASCII.So somesymbols,or theorderofsomesymbols,candiffer
inany font.Eachuniqueselectionandarrangementofsymbolsis asymbol
set(sometimescalled a“graphicset”or“characterset”).
Thesymbol atposition91 for exampleisan open bracket,[,in the usual
ASCIIsymbolset.ButthesamepositionhoIdsA(capitalAwithanumlaut)
inthe Germansymbolset.
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