Exploring FontForge Libraries: UFO, XML and Unicode

FontForge supports different font technologies that help designers create, store, and share fonts easily. Some important ones are UFO, XML, and Unicode. Each of them helps FontForge handle fonts in different ways.

UFO (Unified Font Object)

UFO is a font format mainly used by font designers while developing a font.

Instead of storing everything in one big file, UFO stores font data in a folder with multiple readable files. These files contain information about glyph shapes, spacing, kerning, and other font details.

Because of this structure, UFO is very useful for:

Editing fonts easily

Working with other font tools

Tracking changes using version control systems like Git

FontForge can open, edit, and export UFO files, making it easier for designers to manage font projects.

XML

XML stands for Extensible Markup Language. It is a format used to store data in a structured and readable way.

In FontForge, XML is used to store certain types of font information and metadata.

This helps because:

The data is organized and easy to read

Programs can easily process the information

Font settings and structures can be stored clearly

FontForge uses XML libraries to read and write this structured data.

Unicode

Unicode is a universal system that assigns a unique number to every character used in languages around the world.

For example:

English letters

Tamil characters

Arabic scripts

Symbols and emojis

FontForge uses Unicode to connect each glyph in a font to a specific character. This ensures that when someone types a letter, the correct glyph from the font is displayed.

Unicode support allows FontForge to create fonts that work across different languages and platforms.

Pillow vs VTracer – What’s the Difference?

When working with images in Python, two libraries you might encounter are Pillow and VTracer. Although both deal with images, they serve very different purposes.

Pillow:

Pillow is a popular Python library used for general image processing. It is actually the modern version of the Python Imaging Library (PIL).

What Pillow Does

Pillow works with raster images (pixel-based images). It allows you to manipulate images by editing pixels.

Common Features

With Pillow you can:

Open and save images

Resize images

Crop images

Rotate images

Apply filters

Convert image formats (PNG, JPG, etc.)

Example

from PIL import Image

img = Image.open("photo.jpg")

img.resize((300,300))

img.save("resized.jpg")

When to Use Pillow

Use Pillow when you need to:

Edit photos

Resize or crop images

Apply filters

Convert image formats

Pillow is mainly used in image processing and computer vision projects.

VTracer:

VTracer is a library used for image vectorization. It converts raster images into vector graphics.

What VTracer Does

VTracer analyzes shapes in an image and converts them into SVG vector paths.

Key Features

Converts PNG/JPG to SVG

Detects shapes and outlines

Supports colored images

Produces scalable graphics

Example

import vtracer

vtracer.convert_image_to_svg_py("image.png", "output.svg")

When to Use VTracer

Use VTracer when you need to:

Convert images into vector graphics

Create scalable graphics

Vectorize logos or icons

Convert drawings into SVG