DPLA334LD DOCUMENTATION


LEGAL USE:
 o Free to use and copy, limited to non-profit and non-derivative projects [*]
 o (c) 2023-04-30 dpla (Paris, France [pixel art world, quantum dot universe])

TYPEFACE / TEXT FONTS:
 o 1 typeface: dpla334ld ("dpla334ld #1-8") = "dpla's 3334 low-dot" = "dpla 33-34px 5-6mx"
 o 8 fonts: dpla33p6m; dpla34p6m1, dpla34p6m2; dpla34p5m; dpla33p5m1, dpla33p5m2, dpla33p5m3, dpla33p5m4

SHORT DESCRIPTION:
 o Max-5-to-6-dot, 3×3-to-3×4-pixel, 2-x-height, dpla-derived, 95-code point Us-Ascii, 8-font typeface

DEVELOPMENT (LOG):
 o 1980s till 2010s (rarely released): very low-res Us-Ascii trials (5×5 down to 1×1, mostly incomplete or/and with dupes)
 o 2013-03-07 (unreleased): 3×3 font more legible as semibold [=tip!] from fewer limitations (esp. dot count in this case)
 o 2021-07-02 till 2021-08-13 (temporarily): max-6-down-to-max-5-dot variants (i.e. extra low-dot)
 o 2023-03-03 (temporarily): small editions and 7th font added (same goal)
 o 2023-04-30 (this release): 8th font added (ditto as a 'bonus')

DOT COUNTS (LOG):
 o #: Edit V1_ till V2_ plus V3_: 1-dot+ 2-dot_ + _3-dot + 4-dot__ + 5-dot__ + 6-dot_ = Pix (Chr) Dot Count
 o 1: 20210702 20210813 20230303: 1(1) + 18(_9) + 51(17) + 128(32) + 115(23) + 72(12) = 385/(94)~4.10 <> n/a
 o 2: 20210702 20210813 20230303: 1(1) + 18(_9) + 51(17) + 128(32) + 115(23) + 72(12) = 385/(94)~4.10 <> _0
 o 3: 20210702 20210813 unedited: 2(2) + 20(10) + 45(15) + 140(35) + 115(23) + 54(_9) = 376/(94)=4.00 <> -9
 o 4: 20210702 20210813 unedited: 2(2) + 20(10) + 45(15) + 140(35) + 160(32) + _0(_0) = 367/(94)~3.90 <> -9
 o 5: 20210702 20210813 unedited: 2(2) + 18(_9) + 48(16) + 148(37) + 150(30) + _0(_0) = 366/(94)~3.91 <> -1
 o 6: 20210702 20210813 20230303: 2(2) + 18(_9) + 72(24) + 152(38) + 105(21) + _0(_0) = 349/(94)~3.71 <>-17
 o 7: 20210702 20210813 20230303: 2(2) + 24(12) + 63(21) + 164(41) + _90(18) + _0(_0) = 343/(94)~3.65 <> -6
 o 8: 20210702 20210813 20230430: 2(2) + 24(12) + 69(23) + 180(45) + _60(12) + _0(_0) = 335/(94)~3.56 <> -8 (#1-8: -50)
 o .. ........ ........ ......... .... . ...... . ...... . ....... . ....... . ......==2906(752)~3.86/g. overall

DESIGN RULES (STRICT DESCENDING ORDER):
 o _1: Us-Ascii valid (1 + 94 visible glyphs at 7-bit U0x20 + U0x21-7e)
 o _2: no duplication fontwise (still allowing reuses & vertical shifts)
 o _3: fixed max of grid sizes (3×3 = 5 versions; 3×4 = *3)
 o _4: fixed max of glyph dots (6 = 3×3*1 + 3×4*2; 5 = 3×4*1 + 3×3*4)
 o _5: fixed x-height (~2 at most; with limited baseline hacks)
 o _6: fixed subgrid size of numeric glyphs (2×3)
 o _7: variable width of glyphs (1-to-3-px wide as 3×3 & 3×4)
 o _8: derived on my own works (3×3 fonts mainly, 3×4 fonts, 2×3 trials)
 o _9: identical glyph widths (before kerning) & font dots in fonts #1/#2
 o 10: decreasing count of font dots (from fonts #1/#2 to #8)
 o 11: coherent punctuations and paired symbols
 o 12: coherent stylization (in order to match these cascading rules)

NOTES ON THESE RULES:
 o _1: computationally safe (code); readable (with an increasingly low legibility)
 ..... without mono hack (no dupe from horiz. moves or blank columns)
 o _2: 3×3-grid based (2×4 font: up to 8 dots; 2×3 trial: incomplete/invalid) [*]
 o _3: superfluous extra line spacing (as a 4-px-tall typeface) [*]
 ..... easily built from block semigraphics (old 2×2-checkered glyphs)
 o _4: with induced styling (and logical degrading, hopefully) [*]
 ..... alleviates most costs (rendition on slow devices, rare material etc.)
 ..... faster drawing by hand (a comfy feature once memorized properly)
 ..... extra saving over the same kind/grids of very low-res designs
 o _5: 2 x-height (versus oversized and wasting 3 x-h) [*]
 ..... lowercase 'p' and esp. 'q' have shifted variants (~3 x-h) [*]
 ..... lowercase descenders (in 'gjpqy') may be cut or flat [*]
 o _6: monospace and narrow numerics [*]
 ..... with a few vertical cuts [*]
 o _7: proportional style (slim digits excepted) adds compacity
 ..... numerics are narrow and pseudo-monospaced (useful in charts, counts etc.)
 o _8: my 2×4 fonts and 3×2 tial are not included (but converging glyphs appear)
 o _9: font #2 with same glyph widths (1-3) as font #1 (kernings may differ)
 ..... font #2 with same dot count as font #1 (385 in these heaviest versions)
 o 10: -50 dots at most (from fonts #1/#2 to #8)
 ..... dots/glyph #1/#8= num.: 4.40/4.20; u.c.: 4.77/3.96; l.c.: 3.69/3.31(!)
 o 11: dot-based set of symbols with correct mirrors
 o 12: sans-serif (no superfluous dots by design) [*]
 ..... light, slim, narrowed/thinned (quite and partial at times) [*]
 ..... handwritten (dotless 'i'; some flattened descenders as 3×3) [*]
 ..... degraded (striked-through incidentally; with holes and clipping) [*]
 ..... slanted (slightly, where applicable) [*]
 ..... long learning curve (human reading and writing) [*]
 ..... minimalist lowercase eases writing by hand, though
 ..... often very (too?) simplified (goal with drawback) [*]
 ..... handwriting animations (tables provided) may disambiguate static glyphs
 o[*]: several rules impede cumulatively the very low-res legibility
 ..... more composite/mixed fonts may be built wisely, for private use only




dpla
2023
0829