[R] graphic device MetaPost

[Prof Brian Ripley]

On Sun, 7 Mar 2004, [gb2312] Jinsong Zhao wrote:

> By default, MetaPost passes all text through TeX. This has the
> advantage of allowing essentially any TeX symbols in titles and labels.
> It give us, who use the multibyte character in ordinary communication,
> much convenience. Gnuplot has fulfilled this function, and it give me a
> deep impression for I could use Chinese character in plots with a minor
> modification to the MetaPost file.

I don't think so: you would still need character metrics for the fonts you 
use to be able to centre them, for example.

> I hope the R Development Core Team could consider MetaPost as a graphic
> device in future R version.

We would welcome your contributing such a device.  Note though that 
there is a public API for graphics devices, and so you could just 
contribute the device to CRAN.

If perchance you meant `I want the R core team to write a metapost device
for me', then you have not grasped how Open Source projects work.

There are some plans for internationalization of R via UTF-8, but this
will be a considerable amount (man months?) of work, and of very little
benefit to any of the core developers.  Volunteers would be welcome.

-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley at stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595