[Rd] Plotmath on Fedora 31 broken with with pango >= 1.44 - workarounds?

Wed Apr 8 11:55:31 CEST 2020

Hi Paul,

So I've run the tests (and am  attaching all numerous pdfs here) but the
takeaway from what I can see is as follows:

raw, without specifying font family, "look good" (see plot*raw.pdf)  from
your branch (my eye is upset by the positioning of the phi symbol in plot2,
but I've confirmed that it looks the same generated from 3.5.1, so
that isn't your branch).

The various font family settings seem to work too, from what I can tell.
Both font families you suggested, however, Helvetica and Apple Symbols (the
s is important) have significantly incomplete coverage with PUA on. Apple
Symbols does have nearly complete coverage (though  to my eye the symbols
are all smaller...) with PUA turned off, but Helvetica remains very spotty,
with disabling PUA only modestly increasing it's coverage, and not in the
places that seem likely to matter.

I hope that helps,
~G

On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 8:59 PM Gabriel Becker <gabembecker using gmail.com> wrote:

> Paul et al,
>
> I will try to do this tonight or tomorrow, though it will not be built
> with th system tools because I have yet to get that tto work locally (spent
> a good chunk of this morning trying).
>
> I will send a separate messaage regarding those difficulties as well so
> that we can at least confirm that they are due to a malconfiguration on my
> part.
>
> Best,
> ~G
>
> On Tue, Apr 7, 2020 at 7:25 PM Paul Murrell <paul using stat.auckland.ac.nz>
> wrote:
>
>>
>> The R-symfam branch (r78176) is now working, for my basic tests, on ...
>>
>> Ubuntu (pango < 1.44)
>> Ubuntu (no pango)
>> Fedora (pango > 1.44)
>> Windows
>>
>> I need help to confirm that this builds on macOS and that the basic
>> tests work ...
>>
>> https://github.com/pmur002/R-symfam-testing
>>
>> Brian has been helping with the build, but I am still looking for
>> someone who can run the tests please.  Happy to be fed PDF files to
>> scrutinize myself;  it's generating the PDF files on macOS that I need
>> help with.
>>
>> Paul
>>
>> On 6/04/20 2:59 pm, Paul Murrell wrote:
>> > Hi
>> >
>> > The R branch ...
>> >
>> > https://svn.r-project.org/R/branches/R-symfam/
>> >
>> > ... is now set up so that it works "out of the box" on Fedora by
>> setting
>> > the default to be 'symbolfamily=cairoSymbolFont(family, usePUA=FALSE)'
>> > when grSoftVersion()["pango"] is greater than "1.44".
>> >
>> > This means that on Fedora 31 (at least on the Docker container I am
>> > testing on) "sans"->"NimubusSans" is used as the symbol font by default
>> > and R converts Adobe Symbol Encoding code points to non-PUA UTF8 code
>> > points.  This is not the prettiest result, but it is a lot better than
>> > the page full of missing glyphs that we had.
>> >
>> > The default on less "bleeding edge" systems, e.g., my Ubuntu 18.04,
>> > remains 'symbolfamily="Symbol"'.
>> >
>> > The default on other platforms is supposed to be the same as it was,
>> but
>> > I need help to confirm that.  I have set up a github repo ...
>> >
>> > https://github.com/pmur002/R-symfam-testing
>> >
>> > ... that describes how to test this on macOS and Windows if anyone has
>> > time to do so.
>> >
>> > I will start trying to set up a Windows test unless someone beats me to
>> it.
>> >
>> > Paul
>> >
>> > On 30/03/20 3:24 pm, Paul Murrell wrote:
>> >> Hi
>> >>
>> >> I have created an R branch that contains a potential fix ...
>> >>
>> >> https://svn.r-project.org/R/branches/R-symfam/
>> >>
>> >> This allows, for example, ...
>> >>
>> >> cairo_pdf(symbolfamily="OpenSymbol")
>> >>
>> >> ... to specify that the OpenSymbol family should be used as the
>> >> "symbol" font (e.g., for "plotmath") in R.
>> >>
>> >> This is just a separate branch for now because, while I have tested it
>> >> under Unbuntu 18.04 and Fedora 31, I cannot even build R for Windows
>> >> (right now) or Mac (ever) and I do not want to drop a bomb on R-devel
>> >> at this stage of the release process for R 4.0.0.
>> >>
>> >> The attached file contains at least an outline of steps required to do
>> >> a minimal test if anyone wants to try the fix on Linux.
>> >>
>> >> cc'ing Simon and Jeroen in case they are able to help with checking
>> >> that this builds and works on Mac and/or Windows.
>> >>
>> >> NOTEs:
>> >> - 'symbolfamily' can only be specified when a graphics device is
>> >> opened, and it is then fixed for that device.
>> >> - on Windows, for cairo-based devices, the "symbol" font is still
>> >> hard-coded as "Standard Symbols L"
>> >>
>> >> Paul
>> >>
>> >> On 30/03/20 8:15 am, Paul Murrell wrote:
>> >>> Hi
>> >>>
>> >>> Thanks for your input on this Iñaki and Nicolas.
>> >>>
>> >>> I am starting testing an R fix for this problem today.
>> >>>
>> >>> As suggested, the plan is to allow the R user to specify a font
>> >>> family other than "symbol" for plotmath output (or, more generally,
>> >>> in R parlance, for 'font=5' or 'fontface=5') on a Cairo-based
>> >>> graphics device.
>> >>>
>> >>> Paul
>> >>>
>> >>>
>> >>> On 27/03/20 11:30 pm, Iñaki Ucar wrote:
>> >>>> On Wed, 25 Mar 2020 at 12:25, Nicolas Mailhot
>> >>>> <nicolas.mailhot using laposte.net> wrote:
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> <snip>
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> R brought this all on itself by hardcoding a Windows-only “Symbol”
>> >>>>> font
>> >>>>> family name in its default conf. Linux systems are UTF-8 by default
>> >>>>> for
>> >>>>> ~20 years now, they don’t need the forcing of magic font families to
>> >>>>> handle symbols not present in the 8-bit legacy Windows encodings.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> The actual effect of this conf is not the selection of font files
>> with
>> >>>>> special and unusual symbols. It is to priorize fonts that match the
>> >>>>> "Symbol" magic name. And those fonts are few and crumbling on Linux
>> >>>>> systems, because no one has needed to bother with them since Linux
>> >>>>> switched to UTF-8 last millenium.
>> >>>>>
>> >>>>> Just stop using “Symbol” in R and things will work a lot better.
>> >>>>> Alternatively, prepare to maintain the “Symbol” aliasing stack in
>> >>>>> fontconfig (and fight with wine for it), because *no* *one* *else*
>> >>>>> *cares* about this legacy Windows-specific stuff.
>> >>>>
>> >>>> So, in the light of Nicolas' input (thanks!), I think that font
>> >>>> selection should be fixed upstream in R. I'd be happy to put all this
>> >>>> together in R's bugzilla, but I don't have an account. Could someone
>> >>>> please invite me?
>> >>>>
>> >>>> Iñaki
>> >>>>
>> >>>> ______________________________________________
>> >>>> R-devel using r-project.org mailing list
>> >>>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
>> >>>>
>> >>
>> >
>>
>> --
>> Dr Paul Murrell
>> Department of Statistics
>> The University of Auckland
>> Private Bag 92019
>> Auckland
>> New Zealand
>> 64 9 3737599 x85392
>> paul using stat.auckland.ac.nz
>> http://www.stat.auckland.ac.nz/~paul/
>>
>> ______________________________________________
>> R-devel using r-project.org mailing list
>> https://stat.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
>>
>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot001apsymNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 29162 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot001raw.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 44262 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0001.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot001helvNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 36124 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0002.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot001apsym.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 27796 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0003.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot001helv.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 35341 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0004.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot002apsymNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 12278 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0005.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot002apsym.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 12278 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0006.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot002helvNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 14845 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0007.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot002helv.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 14845 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0008.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot002raw.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 14349 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0009.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot003apsym.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 22879 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0010.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot003apsymNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 22879 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0011.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot003helv.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 27939 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0012.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot003helvNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 27939 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0013.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot003raw.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 26890 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0014.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot004apsym.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 16220 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0015.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot004apsymNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 16220 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0016.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot004helv.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 21668 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0017.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot004raw.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 20411 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0018.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot004helvNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 21668 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0019.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot005apsym.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 13454 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0020.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot005apsymNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 13454 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0021.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot005helv.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 14750 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0022.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot005helvNoPUA.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 14750 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0023.pdf>

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: plot005raw.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 15651 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <https://stat.ethz.ch/pipermail/r-devel/attachments/20200408/2ddbb91f/attachment-0024.pdf>