[GRASS-dev] [GRASS GIS] #290: use a different default for wxGUI displays

[GRASS GIS]

#290: use a different default for wxGUI displays
--------------------------+---------------------------------------------
  Reporter:  msieczka     |      Owner:  grass-dev@…
      Type:  enhancement  |     Status:  closed
  Priority:  major        |  Milestone:  7.2.0
 Component:  Display      |    Version:  svn-develbranch6
Resolution:  invalid      |   Keywords:  d.font, d.fontlist, font, sans,
       CPU:  All          |   Platform:  All
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Changes (by wenzeslaus):

 * keywords:   => d.font, d.fontlist, font, sans,
 * component:  wxGUI => Display
 * milestone:  6.4.0 => 7.2.0


Comment:

 I'm reopening because this is still an issue. The default font is
 objectively bad (considering the typography customs and rules) in letters
 or kerning or both. Beginners are creating ugly maps and creating this
 association with GRASS GIS. Moreover, usage of the ugly default font is
 not limited to beginners as visible when looking at the pictures in
 documentation.

 Replying to [comment:7 glynn]:
 > It's the default because it's guaranteed to be available on all
 platforms (the stroke fonts are part of GRASS). There isn't any FreeType
 font which is guaranteed to be available on all platforms.

 In this case, can we enhance the collection of fonts shipped with GRASS
 GIS with some acceptable font where also the kerning will work? Is it
 possible to add something to the collection?

 > GRASS may not even support FreeType fonts (it's a compile-time option).

 As this is not likely, perhaps we can threat this as the special case when
 user needs to set one of the GRASS fonts.

 > Users can change the default to something better
 > but we can't know which fonts (other than the stroke fonts) will be
 available on the user's system.

 According to recent experiences with MS Windows, where any system font was
 working, but the default was not, it seems the ''stroke fonts'' don't
 guarantee that the font will work.

 It seems to me that replacing `romans` by something like `sans` in
 `D_font(font ? font : "romans");` in `lib/display/r_raster.c` (I'm not
 sure bout other places) would improve the situation. Also there seems to
 be some checking of availability of a the font in system because then it
 goes to the GRASS fonts. So perhaps this can be leveraged to provide some
 fallback.

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Ticket URL: <https://trac.osgeo.org/grass/ticket/290#comment:9>
GRASS GIS <https://grass.osgeo.org>