path: root/doc/context/sources/general/manuals/hybrid/hybrid-italics.tex

% language=uk

% \enabletrackers[typesetters.italics]

% We need to make sure that this works ok, also in future versions
% so we add some more (re)settings than needed.

\startcomponent hybrid-italics

\environment hybrid-environment

\ctxcommand{pushitaliccorrection()}

\startchapter[title={Italic correction}]

\component hybrid-note

\startsection [title={Introduction}]

During the 2011 \CONTEXT\ conference there were presentations by Thomas Schmitz
and Jano Kula where they demonstrated advanced rendering of document source
encoded in \XML. When looking at the examples on screen using many fonts I
realized that (also given my own workflows) it was about time to look into
automated italic correction in the perspective of \MKIV.

In the Lucida Math project it already became clear that italics in \OPENTYPE\
math fonts are to be ignored. And, as in regular \OPENTYPE\ fonts italic
correction is basically non|-|existent some alternative approach is needed there
as well. In \CONTEXT\ you can already for quite a while enable the \type {itlc}
feature which adds italic correction to shapes using some heuristics. However, in
\TEX\ this kind of correction is never applied automatically but is triggered by
the \type {\/} command. Commands like \type {\em} deal with italic correction
automatically but otherwise you need to take care of it yourself. In a time when
you not always have control over the source code or when you are coding in a
format that has no provisions for it (for instance \XML) some further automatism
makes sense. You might even wonder if explicit corrections still make sense.

In this chapter we discuss an alternative approach in \MKIV. This is a typical
example of an experimental feature that might need further discussion (probably
at a next conference). One of our mottos is that the document source should be as
clean as possible and this is one way to go.

\stopsection

\startsection [title={Some preparations}]

Adding italic correction to a font is easy: you just add the right feature
directive. You can do this for all italic (or oblique) fonts in one go:

\starttyping
\definefontfeature[default][default][itlc=yes]
\stoptyping

At some point this might become the default in \CONTEXT. After that the \type
{\/} command can do the job, but as mentioned, we don't really want to do this
each time it's needed. If you never plan to use that command you can disable
\TEX's built|-|in mechanism completely by setting the \type {textitalics}
parameter.

\starttyping
\definefontfeature[default][default][itlc=yes,textitalics=yes]
\stoptyping

It even makes sense then to redefine the the \type {\/} command:

\starttyping
\let\/=/
\stoptyping

so that we have a nice escape in tune with the other escapes.

\stopsection

\startsection [title={Controlling correction}]

In the following examples we will use Cambria as an example as it shows the
effect rather prominently.

\startbuffer[setups]
\definefontfeature[itclyes][default][itlc=yes,textitalics=no]

\definefont[itlcregular]   [name:cambria*itclyes sa 4]
\definefont[itlcbold]      [name:cambriabold*itclyes sa 4]
\definefont[itlcitalic]    [name:cambriaitalic*itclyes sa 4]
\definefont[itlcbolditalic][name:cambriabolditalic*itclyes sa 4]
\stopbuffer

\getbuffer[setups]

\let\/=\italiccorrection % to be sure

\defineframed[ITLCexampleA][frame=off,foregroundcolor=white,background=color,backgroundcolor=red]
\defineframed[ITLCexampleB][frame=off,foregroundcolor=white,background=color,backgroundcolor=blue]
\defineframed[ITLCexampleC][frame=off,foregroundcolor=white,background=color,backgroundcolor=green]
\defineframed[ITLCexampleD][frame=off,foregroundcolor=white,background=color,backgroundcolor=yellow]
\defineframed[ITLCexampleE][frame=off,foregroundcolor=white,background=color,backgroundcolor=gray]

We start with a simple case: just an emphasized word in a small
line:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test} test
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test\/} test}
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\tf test {\it test} test}
\stoptyping

Decorated for the purpose of this demonstration this comes out as follows:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test} test}   \par
    \ITLCexampleB{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test\/} test} \par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test} test}   \par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

In the first line no correction is applied. The second line shows \TEX\ in action
and the third line demonstrates the automatically applied correction. The
explicit directive in the second lines of course gives most control but is also a
no|-|go when you have lots of them.

Actually, \TEX\ is clever enough to ignore multiple corrections: it will only
apply one after a glyph.

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test} test}
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test\/} test}
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test\/\/\/\/} test}
\stoptyping

So we get this:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test} test} \par
    \ITLCexampleB{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test\/} test} \par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test\/\/\/\/} test} \par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

It can be argued that in a decent usage of \CONTEXT\ you will never switch to
another font this way. Instead you will do this:

\starttyping
\definehighlight[important][style=\it]

test \important{test} test
\stoptyping

However, this will not correct at all, so in fact you have to use an environment
that takes care of automatically adding the \type {\/} at the end. Quite from the
start the \type {\em} command does this, with the added benefit of dealing with
bold and nested emphasizing.

Which brings us to cases where you don't want to apply correction, like:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test}{\bi test}
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test\/}{\bi test}
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\tf test {\it test}{\bi test}
\stoptyping

Now we get:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test}{\itlcbolditalic test}}   \par
    \ITLCexampleB{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test\/}{\itlcbolditalic test}} \par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test}{\itlcbolditalic test}}   \par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

A variant on this is:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test   \bi test}
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf test {\it test\/ \bi test}
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\tf test {\it test   \bi test}
\stoptyping

which gives:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test   \itlcbolditalic test}} \par
    \ITLCexampleB{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test\/ \itlcbolditalic test}} \par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test   \itlcbolditalic test}} \par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

So, no italic correction is added between italic shapes of different fonts.
Ideally we should have some inter|-|character kerning, but that is currently
beyond this mechanism.

What does the \type {text} mean in the setup command? The following table tells
what keywords can be passed:

\starttabulate
\NC \type {text}   \NC only apply correction to running text \NC \NR
\NC \type {always} \NC also apply correction to end end of a list \NC \NR
\NC \type {global} \NC enable this mechanism globally (more efficient) \NC \NR
\NC \type {none}   \NC disable this mechanism \NC \NR
\stoptabulate

The difference between \type {text} and \type {always} is best demonstrated with
an example:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[none]\tf   test {\it test}}
\setupitaliccorrection[always]\tf test {\it test}}
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\tf   test {\it test}}
\stoptyping

This gives:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[none]\itlcregular   test {\itlcitalic test}} \par
    \ITLCexampleD{\setupitaliccorrection[always]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalic test}} \par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular   test {\itlcitalic test}} \par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

The \type {always} option will flush pending corrections at a boundary, like the
edge of a box (or line). Contrary to \TEX's italic corrections, the \MKIV\
variants are glue and they will disappear whenever \TEX\ likes to get rid of
glue, for instance at line breaks. \footnote {There is some room for improvement
here, for instance we can take penalties into account.}

While writing this, we're still talking of an experimental setup so there might
be extensions or changes to this mechanism. \footnote {For instance, I'm
considering extending this mechanism to provide kerning between fonts, something
for a rainy afternoon.}

As it's just a guess you can influence the amount of automatic correction by
specifying a factor. We show an exmaple of this.

\startbuffer
\definefontfeature[itclyes]       [default][itlc=yes,textitalics=delay]
\definefontfeature[itclyesten]    [default][itlc=10, textitalics=delay]
\definefontfeature[itclyeshundred][default][itlc=100,textitalics=delay]

\definefont[itlcitalicyes]      [name:cambriaitalic*itclyes        sa 4]
\definefont[itlcitalicten]      [name:cambriaitalic*itclyesten     sa 4]
\definefont[itlcitalichundred]  [name:cambriaitalic*itclyeshundred sa 4]
\stopbuffer

\typebuffer \getbuffer

We show all three variants:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalicyes     test} test\par
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalicten     test} test\par
\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalichundred test} test\par
\stoptyping

This becomes:

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip
    \ITLCexampleA{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalicyes     test} test}\par
    \ITLCexampleB{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalicten     test} test}\par
    \ITLCexampleC{\setupitaliccorrection[text]\itlcregular test {\itlcitalichundred test} test}\par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection

\stopsection

\startsection [title={Saving resources}]

You can keep track of what gets done by enabling a tracker:

\starttyping
\enabletrackers[typesetters.italics]
\stoptyping

You will notice that there are occasional reports about correction being
inserted, ignored and removed. As node lists are parsed there is some extra
overhead, but not that much. The \TEX\ solution (using \type {\/}) is quit
efficient because that command directly injects a kern without too much analysis.
You can gain some efficiency for the automated variant by using the \type
{global} option:

\starttyping
\setupitaliccorrection[always,global]
\stoptyping

Also, you can disable \TEX's mechanism effectively by not passing the italic
information to the font machinery at all:

\starttyping
\definefontfeature[italics][default][itlc=yes,textitalics=yes]
\stoptyping

The \type {itlc} feature will tag the font for italic corrections but the \type
{textitalics} option will make sure that this information is not passed to the
\TEX\ font handler but kept private.

As adding the italic corrections to a font takes memory and a little bit of extra
load time, we can delay this process till it is really needed.

\starttyping
\definefontfeature[italics][default][itlc=yes,textitalics=delay]
\stoptyping

In this case the correction will be calculated when needed and cached for later
usage. At some point this might become the default \CONTEXT\ behaviour.

\stopsection

\startsection [title={Math}]

Italic correction in math plays a role when dealing with traditional \TEX\ fonts,
where glyph dimensions can have a special meaning. However, in \OPENTYPE\ math
the correction is mostly ignored. You can disable it altogether and let an
alternative mechanism deal with it. This mechanism is still somewhat experimental
but is controlled as follows:

\starttyping
\switchtobodyfont[xits]
\setupmathematics[italics=no] test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}
\setupmathematics[italics=1]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}
\setupmathematics[italics=2]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}
\setupmathematics[italics=3]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}
\setupmathematics[italics=4]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}
\stoptyping

This gives:

\start \switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt] \stop

\startlinecorrection[blank] \vbox \bgroup \offinterlineskip \enabletrackers[math.italics]
    \ITLCexampleE{\switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt]\setupmathematics[italics=no] test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}\par
    \ITLCexampleA{\switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt]\setupmathematics[italics=1]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}\par
    \ITLCexampleB{\switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt]\setupmathematics[italics=2]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}\par
    \ITLCexampleC{\switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt]\setupmathematics[italics=3]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}\par
    \ITLCexampleD{\switchtobodyfont[xits,42pt]\setupmathematics[italics=4]  test $a;b;a; b; f;$ test}\par
\egroup \stoplinecorrection \disabletrackers[math.italics]

The actual rendering can depend on the settings in the goodies file, for
instance:

\starttyping
local italics = {
    defaultfactor = 0.025,
    disableengine = true, % feature: mathitalics=yes
    corrections   = {
     -- [0x1D44E] = 0.99,    -- a (fraction of quad)
     -- [0x1D44F] = 100,     -- b (font points)
        [0x1D453] = -0.0375, -- f
    }
}

return {
    name = "xits-math",
    version = "1.00",
    comment = "Goodies that complement xits (by Khaled Hosny).",
    author = "Hans Hagen",
    copyright = "ConTeXt development team",
    mathematics = {
        italics = {
            ["xits-math"] = italics,
        },
    }
}
\stoptyping

Corrections can be specified in the font's units or as a fraction (smaller than
1) in which case it will be multiplied by \type {1em}. You can set the font
feature \type {mathitalics} to \type {yes} to inhibit the engine's built|-|in
mechanism completely and rely on the alternative approach but as users will
seldom define math feature sets themselves, there is also the possibility to
disable the engine in the goodies file.

The process can be watched by setting a tracker:

\starttyping
\enabletrackers[math.italics]
\stoptyping

\stopsection

\stopchapter

\ctxcommand{popitaliccorrection()}

\disabletrackers[typesetters.italics]

\stopcomponent