Author Topic: Dina font in size 7, 6.5 or 6 ? (Read 52,618 times)

Defenestration · « **on:** February 12, 2008, 09:37 PM »

I absolutely love the Dina font for programming - very clear. However, I find the minimum size of 8 to be a bit too large. It would be great if the Dina font could be made in size 7, 6.5 or even 6.

mouser · « **Reply #1 on:** February 12, 2008, 09:47 PM »

f0dder · « **Reply #2 on:** February 13, 2008, 12:45 AM »

Hmm, I think it would hard to make it smaller; 8px is already very small, and it's a pretty great job making all the characters look so well. Cramming all symbols into less pixels?

Are you running a < 1024x768 resolution?

Defenestration · « **Reply #3 on:** February 13, 2008, 10:59 AM »

I'm running a 24" monitor with 1920x1200 resolution. However, my laptop (which I've had for 6 years) is only 15" but has a resolution of 1600x1200, so I'm used to small text. The Dina font at 8 is very clear, but is a bit big. I have the Bitstream Vera Sans Mono at size 7 which is clear, but I prefer the look of the Dina font.

Do you know of any decent free bitmap font editors so I could maybe try to convert it to 7 point myself (and possibly less, if feasible) ?

jgpaiva · « **Reply #4 on:** February 13, 2008, 11:25 AM »

Well... I think you should read the following thread, if you're looking for fonts:
18 Monospace fonts comparison screenshot

Defenestration · « **Reply #5 on:** February 13, 2008, 12:29 PM »

Thanks for the link jgpaiva. I did find ProFont and Sheldon yesterday, which look promising, but couldn't download them. Managed to download them now so I'll test them out.

tartley · « **Reply #6 on:** July 25, 2013, 02:49 PM »

I agree. I appreciate it's a lot of work, but just for the record, if anyone was interested (or interested in showing me how?) then I'd be keen. I think Dina would be the best programming font, but using Terminus I can get 3 80 columns terminals/editors side-by-side, but with Dina I cannot.

I might research how to edit the .fon files myself. Any pointers are welcome.

Jibz · « **Reply #7 on:** August 20, 2013, 09:10 AM »

Just wanted to let you know that I am working on a 6/7 point size version of Dina.

I have been reluctant to make one, since there really isn't much space to move pixels around at this size, but I can see there are uses for it.

The difference between 6 and 7 point is the height, so it is a trade-off between cramming more lines onto screen and readability -- I am not sure what is more important yet.

Also, it will probably only be regular, since italic and bold are very hard to make readable at that size.

mouser · « **Reply #8 on:** August 20, 2013, 09:11 AM »

tartley · « **Reply #9 on:** August 20, 2013, 10:20 AM »

Hooray! This makes me very happy to hear.

FWIW, I'm sure you're already very aware of things like this, but one requirement I'd really like is to preserve the visible distinction between '(' and '{'. In Terminus, for example, they are only a pixel or two different, but in Dina they are really distinct, which is great.

ewemoa · « **Reply #10 on:** August 20, 2013, 11:39 AM »

Quote from: tartley on July 25, 2013, 02:49 PM

I can get 3 80 columns terminals/editors side-by-side

I appreciate being able to do this.

Jibz · « **Reply #11 on:** August 20, 2013, 01:23 PM »

Quote from: mouser on August 20, 2013, 09:11 AM

Fun!

Yes, it is!

There is something fascinating about the expressiveness you can get from so few pixels, how much moving a pixel or two around can matter for readability and feel.

But it is also very time-consuming, and I always end up spending hours trying out possibilities, checking how they look in different programming languages, and agonizing over what choices are best

.

Quote from: tartley on August 20, 2013, 10:20 AM

FWIW, I'm sure you're already very aware of things like this, but one requirement I'd really like is to preserve the visible distinction between '(' and '{'. In Terminus, for example, they are only a pixel or two different, but in Dina they are really distinct, which is great.

Yes, being able to clearly distinguish the characters used in programming languages is a high priority

.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #12 on:** August 20, 2013, 10:28 PM »

Quote from: Jibz on August 20, 2013, 01:23 PM

But it is also very time-consuming

Just a little appreciation...

Jibz · « **Reply #13 on:** August 21, 2013, 06:46 AM »

Thanks cranioscopical

.

I am tweaking the 6 point version, and moving some of the changes to the other sizes at the moment. I think it's looking quite good, though it is very dense.

Here is a comparison of a snippet of C in Dina 8 and 6:

And here are sets of common characters at 6, 8, and 10:

mouser · « **Reply #14 on:** August 21, 2013, 09:46 AM »

both look awesome

worstje · « **Reply #15 on:** August 21, 2013, 10:15 AM »

That looks damn sexy. Awesomeness. I look forward to the final release. xD

Vurbal · « **Reply #16 on:** August 21, 2013, 11:10 AM »

Quote from: Jibz on August 21, 2013, 06:46 AM

Thanks cranioscopical .

I am tweaking the 6 point version, and moving some of the changes to the other sizes at the moment. I think it's looking quite good, though it is very dense.

On my a 1920x1080 21.5" monitor the 6pt version is crystal clear from 2+ feet away. I'm not one to be impressed by a font but that really is amazing!

tartley · « **Reply #17 on:** August 23, 2013, 08:54 AM »

Looking GREAT! Excited!

Jibz · « **Reply #18 on:** August 23, 2013, 03:25 PM »

I feel the 6pt version is pretty much finished now (and I probably need a break from staring at pixels

).

So, attached is the current version in FON and BDF format.

Let me know what you think

.

cranioscopical · « **Reply #19 on:** August 24, 2013, 03:49 PM »

Quote from: Jibz on August 23, 2013, 03:25 PM

Let me know what you think

A veritable tour de force of fontmanship!

ewemoa · « **Reply #20 on:** August 26, 2013, 01:54 AM »

Is the directory layout going to be different from that of the .zip available via Dina's home page?

ewemoa · « **Reply #21 on:** August 29, 2013, 02:44 AM »

Attached is an attempt at a tarball for an Arch package of Dina ~~2.91~~2.92.

md5:6d4ef8c9b96551e553e6240855b5e240