GNU bug report logs - #2334
23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: "Theodore Ts'o" <tytso <at> mit.edu>
To: emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Sun, 15 Feb 2009 00:32:28 -0500

Using emacs-snapshot-20090207, the text display becomes very ugly when
set via:

(set-default-font "DejaVu Sans Mono-10")

However, if the font is set via the menu bar: Options->Set Default Font

then the fonts look good (i.e., with proper anti-aliasing).



In GNU Emacs 23.0.90.1 (i486-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 2.14.4)
 of 2009-02-10 on iridium, modified by Debian
 (emacs-snapshot package, version 1:20090207-1~intrepid1)
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.10502000
configured using `configure  '--build' 'i486-linux-gnu' '--host' 'i486-linux-gnu' '--prefix=/usr' '--sharedstatedir=/var/lib' '--libexecdir=/usr/lib' '--localstatedir=/var' '--infodir=/usr/share/info' '--mandir=/usr/share/man' '--with-pop=yes' '--enable-locallisppath=/etc/emacs-snapshot:/etc/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/23.0.90/site-lisp:/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/23.0.90/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp' '--with-x=yes' '--with-x-toolkit=gtk' 'build_alias=i486-linux-gnu' 'host_alias=i486-linux-gnu' 'CFLAGS=-DDEBIAN -DSITELOAD_PURESIZE_EXTRA=5000 -g -O2' 'LDFLAGS=-g -Wl,--as-needed' 'CPPFLAGS=''

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: nil
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  value of $XMODIFIERS: nil
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix
  default-enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Lisp Interaction

Minor modes in effect:
  display-time-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  global-auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t

Recent input:
M-x s e t - f SPC a SPC s SPC <tab> <tab> <return> 
C-g <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar> 
<options> <menu-set-font> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar> <options> <menu-set-font> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <right> M-x r e p o SPC SPC r SPC SPC SPC 
<return> C-g C-x C-f C-g M-x r e p o r SPC SPC SPC 
<return>

Recent messages:
Skipping dictionaries-common setup for emacs-snapshot
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50dictionaries-common.el (source)...done
Loading /etc/emacs/site-start.d/50psvn.el (source)...done
Loading /home/tytso/.emacs.custom...done
For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a.
Making completion list...
Quit [2 times]
call-interactively: End of buffer
Making completion list... [2 times]
Quit
Quit

Message #10 received at 2334 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: Kenichi Handa  <handa <at> m17n.org>
Cc: "Theodore Ts'o" <tytso <at> mit.edu>, 2334 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 10:26:16 -0500

"Theodore Ts'o" <tytso <at> mit.edu> wrote:

> Using emacs-snapshot-20090207, the text display becomes very ugly when
> set via:
> (set-default-font "DejaVu Sans Mono-10")
> However, if the font is set via the menu bar: Options->Set Default Font
> then the fonts look good (i.e., with proper anti-aliasing).

Hi Handa-san,

I think we should give the xft font backend (where it is available) a
higher priority than the x backend; otherwise, users will keep
experiencing bugs like this.

WDYT?

Message #15 received at 2334 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Theodore Tso <tytso <at> mit.edu>
To: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
Cc: Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org>, 2334 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using
	set-default-font elisp function
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 11:00:05 -0500

On Mon, Feb 16, 2009 at 10:26:16AM -0500, Chong Yidong wrote:
> "Theodore Ts'o" <tytso <at> mit.edu> wrote:
> 
> > Using emacs-snapshot-20090207, the text display becomes very ugly when
> > set via:
> > (set-default-font "DejaVu Sans Mono-10")
> > However, if the font is set via the menu bar: Options->Set Default Font
> > then the fonts look good (i.e., with proper anti-aliasing).
> 
> Hi Handa-san,
> 
> I think we should give the xft font backend (where it is available) a
> higher priority than the x backend; otherwise, users will keep
> experiencing bugs like this.
> 
> WDYT?

Stupid question --- is there a way to force the right thing to happen
from emacs-lisp?  My biggest gripe is that I couldn't figure out a way
to make the right thing happem from my .emacs.el file, despite a lot
of time spent trying to find the right interfaces via M-x apropos.  So
at the moment, I'm firing up emacs, and then having to use
Options->Set Default Font from the menu bar to change to a small font
size.  (And I'm an old-school emacs person who normally would run with
the menu bar and tool bar disabled.  :-)

I suspect the correct default though should be to give the xft font
backend a higher priority; especially at the moment, where many people
are using emacs-snapshot *because* of the nicer font display.

Thanks, regards,

						- Ted

Message #20 received at 2334 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: Theodore Tso <tytso <at> mit.edu>
Cc: Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org>, 2334 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:22:54 -0500

Theodore Tso <tytso <at> mit.edu> writes:

> Stupid question --- is there a way to force the right thing to happen
> from emacs-lisp?  My biggest gripe is that I couldn't figure out a way
> to make the right thing happem from my .emacs.el file

Something like this will do the trick:

  (set-frame-parameter nil 'font-backend '(xft x))

Message #25 received at 2334 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org>
To: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
Cc: tytso <at> mit.edu, 2334 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 15:00:39 +0900

In article <8763jaqu7b.fsf <at> cyd.mit.edu>, Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com> writes:

> "Theodore Ts'o" <tytso <at> mit.edu> wrote:
> > Using emacs-snapshot-20090207, the text display becomes very ugly when
> > set via:
> > (set-default-font "DejaVu Sans Mono-10")
> > However, if the font is set via the menu bar: Options->Set Default Font
> > then the fonts look good (i.e., with proper anti-aliasing).

> Hi Handa-san,

> I think we should give the xft font backend (where it is available) a
> higher priority than the x backend; otherwise, users will keep
> experiencing bugs like this.

I at first want to figure out why the above two methods for
seting a font are different.  At least, I can't reproduce
the difference.  Can you?  When I have "dejavu sans mono"
fonts both for fontconfig and X as below, both methods set
the default font to X font.

% fc-list 'dejavu sans mono'
DejaVu Sans Mono:style=Bold Oblique
DejaVu Sans Mono:style=Oblique
DejaVu Sans Mono:style=Book
DejaVu Sans Mono:style=Bold
% xlsfonts '*-dejavu sans mono-*'
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-bold-o-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-bold-o-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-bold-r-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-medium-o-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-medium-o-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-c-0-iso10646-1
-dejavu-dejavu sans mono-medium-r-normal--0-0-0-0-m-0-iso10646-1
[...]

---
Kenichi Handa
handa <at> m17n.org

Message #30 received at 2334 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org>
Cc: tytso <at> mit.edu, 2334 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 08:48:45 -0500

Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org> writes:

> I at first want to figure out why the above two methods for
> seting a font are different.  At least, I can't reproduce
> the difference.  Can you?  When I have "dejavu sans mono"
> fonts both for fontconfig and X as below, both methods set
> the default font to X font.

I do see this bug.

I have 'Emacs.Font: Monospace 9' in my .Xresources file.  With
`emacs -Q', C-u C-x = reports the font as

    xft:-unknown-DejaVu Sans
    Mono-normal-normal-normal-*-12-*-*-*-m-0-iso10646-1 (#x1E)

If I then do

 M-: (modify-frame-parameters (selected-frame)
                              (list (cons 'font "DejaVu Sans Mono 9")))

the font becomes non-antialised, and C-u C-x = reports

    x:-dejavu-dejavu sans
    mono-medium-r-normal--12-87-100-100-m-70-iso8859-1 (#x3B)

My results for fc-list and xlsfonts are the same as yours.

Message #35 received at 2334-done <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>
To: Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org>
Cc: tytso <at> mit.edu, 2334-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: 23.0.90; emacs-snapshot has ugly fonts when using set-default-font elisp function
Date: Wed, 18 Feb 2009 22:18:11 -0500

Kenichi Handa <handa <at> m17n.org> writes:

> I at first want to figure out why the above two methods for
> seting a font are different.  At least, I can't reproduce
> the difference.  Can you?  When I have "dejavu sans mono"
> fonts both for fontconfig and X as below, both methods set
> the default font to X font.

If the frame is already using an XFT font, doing

 (set-face-attribute 'default (selected-frame)
                     :font "DejaVu Sans Mono 10")

will give an XFT (anti-aliased) version of DejaVu Sans Mono.  If the
frame is using an X font, the same code gives the X version of DejaVu
Sans Mono.

Doing

  (modify-frame-parameters (selected-frame)
     (list (cons 'font "DejaVu Sans Mono 10")))

always returns the X version.  This discrepancy is due to the use of
font_open_by_name instead of font_load_for_lface.

I don't think there is anything that need to be corrected, apart from
giving the XFT driver a higher priority; I've just done that.

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