What’s happening with FontBakery? Is Fontspector the future?

2»

Comments

  • Simon Cozens
    Simon Cozens Posts: 807
    edited 6:55AM
    John Savard said:
    If a user has to be concerned about dependencies when installing a program on Windows, the battle is already lost. 

    You know that Fontbakery has a dependency on Python, and also on a bunch of Python modules, don't you? On the other hand...

    In a Windows port of a version of FontBakery with FontSpector inside, I had assumed that all the dependencies are handled before the thing is packaged.

    ...Fontspector on Windows is provided as a single binary download with no dependencies at all. It is easier to install.

    I don't know why "Typedesigner" ended up trying to compile it from source, given that step one of the install instructions was "download the precompiled binary".

    While I freely admit there could and should be better documentation, I'm discouraged right now. I feel like I am getting a lot of flak based on the experience of one user who pronounces themselves as non-technical, eschews the solution provided for non-technical users, fails to read the instructions, and then blames me. I'm not entirely sure the flak is justified.

  • Typedesigner
    Typedesigner Posts: 69
    John Hudson said:
    Again: there is a web interface. It is incredibly easy to use, and provides exactly the sort of functionality that a non-technical user would want. I can’t think of any compelling reason why I would want to install FontSpector locally.
    For example, if you are working on custom fonts and have signed a confidentiality agreement with your clients, would you prefer to check these fonts in an online tool like FontSpektor or directly offline on your Mac? For safety reasons, the second option is definitely preferable.
  • Simon Cozens
    Simon Cozens Posts: 807
    edited 7:49AM
    People have explained to you multiple times that no data leaves your computer and all processing is done locally. I really don't understand what's going on.

    Again, I'm not forcing you to use it. If you don't like it, don't use it. Fontbakery is still there. Thankfully we didn't replace it with the Rust version.
  • Typedesigner
    Typedesigner Posts: 69
    Simon Cozens said:
    People have explained to you multiple times that no data leaves your computer and all processing is done locally. I really don't understand what's going on.

    Again, I'm not forcing you to use it. If you don't like it, don't use it. Fontbakery is still there. Thankfully we didn't replace it with the Rust version.
    Once again: Currently, there is an ERROR when installing FontBakery under Python 3.13.7, which has caused frustration for many users. It would be great if you could fix this technical issue.

Categories