[coreboot] Video card bios project

[Idwer Vollering]

2011/6/19 dove - railing <doverailing at gmail.com>:
> I have phoned Australia and spoke to an expert in Procon.com.au about 2
> times and corresponded via email.  Procon.com.au are wanting several hundred
> dollars whether it's  my font or theirs.  This is not affordable.  I don't
> know why vga bios is proprietary still and there is not any opensource
> alternatives.  Thus if some opensource enthusiast does it that would be
> great.  Coreboot project are doing main bios.  Similarly if it's done for
> video card bios that would be tremendous.

There's the Open Graphics Project:
http://wiki.opengraphics.org/tiki-index.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Graphics_Project
http://lists.duskglow.com/open-graphics/2010-September/012160.html

>
>
> Regards
>
>
> Meeku
>
>
>
> On Sun, Jun 19, 2011 at 11:52 AM, Ramch April May the R A M months
> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
>> From: Ramch April May the R A M months <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com>
>> Date: Thu, Jun 16, 2011 at 8:31 AM
>> Subject: Re: Help with Bitmap fonts
>> To: Wynand Marais <wynand.marais at gmail.com>
>>
>>
>> Hi Wynand
>>
>> Have not heard from you, have you forgotten about this?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>> Meeku
>>
>> On Sat, May 14, 2011 at 6:30 PM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Wynard
>>>
>>> From those 3 expert responses, it could be 2 bitmap font types:
>>>
>>> Console bitmap font (first 2 expert responses)
>>>
>>> Bios and Video Card bitmap font (last expert response)
>>>
>>> Anyway I'm only a newbie, I'll leave it you :-)
>>>
>>>
>>> Best,
>>>
>>>
>>> Meeku
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, May 13, 2011 at 10:30 AM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Wynand
>>>>
>>>> I received another response:
>>>>
>>>> -----Start-----
>>>>
>>>> *"Resolution*: default VGA text mode is 720 x 400, but can
>>>> be swiched by software to 640x400, 640x350 and some others.
>>>> *File Format*: no files, it's just somewhere in the BIOS
>>>> and some pointers point to the start of the font character
>>>> bytes startng at char 0.
>>>> Does 1 indicate a pixel of the glyph, and 0 the background or visa
>>>> versa?
>>>> Yes
>>>> *Glyph Size*: 8x8, 8x14 and 8x16 pixels
>>>> Yes. 8x14 is missing often in todays BIOSes. Was used for
>>>> EGA resolution (640x350) but some software uses it to get
>>>> 28 text lines on VGA resolution. If missing, it looks messy.
>>>> *How is the alphabet arrange*? Is all 256 glyphs in one image?"
>>>> Yes.
>>>>
>>>> Since the text resolution is 720 wide, there are 9 pixels
>>>> per char. So you can use all 8 pixels of each char, no space
>>>> needed. The 9th pixel column just stays empty, so you always have
>>>> a space between the chars. Only in a certain range (I think
>>>> 176 to 223 the 8th column is duplicated to the 9th one to get
>>>> block graphics chars without a gap.
>>>>
>>>> Since a real BIOS font shall look ok on 640x400 and 640x350 too,
>>>> the chars use 7 pixels only and keep the 8th column empty.
>>>> But there are some extra chars defined behind the default font
>>>> which are used somehow for 720 pixel wide modes. Usualy there
>>>> are the letters M, T, W and the zero.
>>>> Just take a look at a BIOS, e.g. with MemPatch.
>>>>
>>>> http://www.uwe-sieber.de/files/mempatch.zip
>>>>
>>>> Here is some stuff:
>>>> http://www.uwe-sieber.de/temp/dos-fonts.zip
>>>>
>>>> fontpatch is a tool for editing DOS fonts and store them
>>>> into an executable which can load it into the memory and
>>>> makes it used by changing the pointer to the font.
>>>> The fnt files are pure BIOS fonts I had created 20 years
>>>> ago...
>>>>
>>>> -----End-----
>>>>
>>>> Best,
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Meeku
>>>>
>>>> On Wed, May 11, 2011 at 11:47 PM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> Hi
>>>>>
>>>>> I received 2 responses:
>>>>>
>>>>> "Under Linux, the file format used for console fonts is PSF:
>>>>>
>>>>> <http://www.win.tue.nl/~aeb/linux/kbd/font-formats-1.html>
>>>>>
>>>>>  which, at its simplest, is a 4-byte header followed by monochrome
>>>>> character data for 256 characters. (For the 16-row font this is 256*16 =
>>>>> 4096 bytes, for a total of 4100 bytes).
>>>>>
>>>>>  I'm not aware of any automated conversion tool that can make PSFs
>>>>> directly from bitmap images. The nearest a bitmap tool could get is probably
>>>>> .PBM format, 8 pixels wide and 4096 high, with all the letters one above the
>>>>> other. Then slice off the .PBM header and add a .PSF header."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "As far as I know, there's no header. Each byte is one row of the
>>>>> character. All 256 glyphs are in one file sequentially -- i.e., 16 bytes for
>>>>> character 0x00, 16 bytes for character 0x01, etc. 0 = background, 1 = pixel
>>>>> on."
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Cheers for doing this.  Hope this is helpful.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>
>>>>> On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 5:46 AM, Wynand Marais
>>>>> <wynand.marais at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Hi Meeku
>>>>>> They are just verifying what I've been telling you so far. I'm
>>>>>> not committing to this, but at the earliest it will have to wait till the
>>>>>> weekend at the earliest. You have to realise I have 3 paying jobs, my
>>>>>> current employers must take priority, otherwise they will have no initiative
>>>>>> to pay me. Also you can't hire a professional software engineer for USD15 in
>>>>>> Australia.
>>>>>> However, get me all the information (see below), and I'll see when I
>>>>>> have free time, if I can write it. The information i need is:
>>>>>> Resolution: width x height (in pixels)
>>>>>> File Format: its bitmap 1,0, but does the file need a specific header?
>>>>>> Does 1 indicate a pixel of the glyph, and 0 the background or visa versa?
>>>>>> Glyph Size: 8x8, 8x14 and 8x16 pixels
>>>>>> How is the alphabet arrange? Is all 256 glyphs in one image?
>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>> -Wynand
>>>>>> On Tue, May 10, 2011 at 5:12 AM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>>>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Hi Wynand
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Here is another expert's quote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "BIOS fonts are 8x8, 8x14 and 8x16 pixels.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> The fonts in the screenshot do no look like bitmap fonts
>>>>>>> at all, they are not 'black and white', the are rendered."
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Please could you agree to doing the way they suggest.  I could pay
>>>>>>> you USD15 for your time and trouble.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> On Sun, May 8, 2011 at 11:57 AM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>>>>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Hi Wynand
>>>>>>>> I contacted some experts about whether your bitmap font is suitable
>>>>>>>> as a "hardware font" for Video Card and Bios.  Those who responded say the
>>>>>>>> sizes are wrong and one expert says the colour is wrong.  Here are there
>>>>>>>> quotes for your information:
>>>>>>>> "VGA hardware uses an 8x16-pixel character cell-- the smallest one
>>>>>>>> in the samples you linked uses 16x16 pixels for each character."
>>>>>>>> "As it is, I don't think the font is suitable. The 256x256 one is
>>>>>>>> probably the closest in size, but it's still a greyscale image; BIOS fonts
>>>>>>>> can't be antialiased, so all those greys would have to be flattened to black
>>>>>>>> or white. They also use a cell 16 pixels high and 8 wide, not the 16x16 cell
>>>>>>>> used here, so some letters would be truncated (for example, the 'w')."
>>>>>>>> Is it possible you could fit the bitmap font to meet the above Video
>>>>>>>> Card and Bios requirements?
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>> On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 11:16 AM, Wynand Marais
>>>>>>>> <wynand.marais at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> Hi Meeku
>>>>>>>>> Sorry, I work three jobs atm, and I worked all night to get the
>>>>>>>>> last software realse out the door, so was sleeping all day.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> > BTW, I saw on your website that you practice both software and
>>>>>>>>> > hardware automation.  I am wanting to launch a nonprofit-nonsalary
>>>>>>>>> > organisation for a purpose and I would be grateful if you have any regular
>>>>>>>>> > spare time for consultation?
>>>>>>>>> I'd be curious to see what you end up doing, unfortunately as I
>>>>>>>>> mentioned above, I'm allready working three jobs, so I rather not make any
>>>>>>>>> promises at this stage, sorry.
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>> > > http://www.softpedia.com/get/Tweak/Video-Tweak/HVFULLSC-Full-Screen-Video-Card-and-CPI-Fonts.shtml
>>>>>>>>> I don't think my stuff would be the same at all. The fonts use
>>>>>>>>> internally by the vga adapter will likely only be a bit mask with
>>>>>>>>> no anti-aliasing etc. (I would expect anyway, since the orgins date back to
>>>>>>>>> when "PCs" in a sense were first conceived. ) I'm however completely out of
>>>>>>>>> depth commenting on how it would work. I've never worked with anything like
>>>>>>>>> that, the bitmap fonts I generate are itended to be used as textures in
>>>>>>>>> graphics APIs like OpenGL and DirectX which are abstractions above the
>>>>>>>>> hardware level. The application in the link I suspect would replace some
>>>>>>>>> binary font set programmed into a flash/eeprom on the video card somewhere.
>>>>>>>>> An example of where this font file can be used (and is targeted for use) is
>>>>>>>>> given in this
>>>>>>>>> example: http://nehe.gamedev.net/data/lessons/lesson.asp?lesson=43
>>>>>>>>> > Please tell me if I could pay you an amount via PayPal for this
>>>>>>>>> > font.
>>>>>>>>> No, thats fine, I didn't design the font, just rendered it to a
>>>>>>>>> picture, so I cant take any credit for it. Also, as I said on the website,
>>>>>>>>> the tools are completely free, I just like to know what people use it for :)
>>>>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>>>> -Wynand
>>>>>>>>> On Fri, May 6, 2011 at 7:24 PM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>>>>>>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Hi
>>>>>>>>>> I have released your font on Typophile
>>>>>>>>>> forum, http://typophile.com/node/81929
>>>>>>>>>> Please tell me if I could pay you an amount via PayPal for this
>>>>>>>>>> font.
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 8:06 AM, Wynand Marais
>>>>>>>>>> <wynand.marais at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>> No, 256, 512 and 1024 maps to 2^N boundaries used on many video
>>>>>>>>>>> cards for texture sizes. As mentioned earlier this is designed for game
>>>>>>>>>>> engines, hence these sizes are specified as the minimum (256) where the font
>>>>>>>>>>> is not really clearly visible, the "nice" size (512) which give a good
>>>>>>>>>>> balance of texture size and glyph resolution, and the biggest 1024 which is
>>>>>>>>>>> generally the upper limit for what size textures you want to use in games.
>>>>>>>>>>> When rendering bitmap fonts, you want to select the texture that gives you
>>>>>>>>>>> the lest amount of scaling between the glyph size in the texture which is
>>>>>>>>>>> either 256/16, 512/16 or 1024/16 in order to give you the least amount of
>>>>>>>>>>> distortion. For example, if you want a font height of 16pixels, you would
>>>>>>>>>>> just use the glyphs directly from the 256 image.
>>>>>>>>>>> The ".awd" is the "advance width" file. Every-time you write a
>>>>>>>>>>> glyph, you need to advance the text cursor a cetrain distance before drawing
>>>>>>>>>>> the next glyph. This file contains this information for each glyph in the
>>>>>>>>>>> image effectively supporting variable width fonts.
>>>>>>>>>>> The ".pwd" file is the "physical width" file which contains the
>>>>>>>>>>> maximum width of each glyph in the image. This information is used when you
>>>>>>>>>>> are calculating maximum line widths, or are working with rendering
>>>>>>>>>>> individual glyphs to ensure you achieve proper centering.
>>>>>>>>>>> Referring to your previous message:
>>>>>>>>>>> Please could you help with converting a Rail Model font
>>>>>>>>>>> (download: http://code.google.com/p/railmodel/downloads/list) into bitmap
>>>>>>>>>>> font for modding an existing linux distribution's console font / developing
>>>>>>>>>>> a linux distribution?
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>> I don't think you need to create a bitmap font for this. If you
>>>>>>>>>>> are using a powerful enough linux distro you should be able to just install
>>>>>>>>>>> the font to the users .font directory, and then change the user terminal to
>>>>>>>>>>> use that font. If you are talking about the TTY fonts, I really cant help
>>>>>>>>>>> you as I have no idea about it myself. I honestly don't know if
>>>>>>>>>>> these generated fonts will be useful in anyway for this purpose. I would
>>>>>>>>>>> suggest that you workout which terminal you want to change the font for
>>>>>>>>>>> (i.e. XTerm, Gnome Terminal, Konsole, Bash, TTY, etc), and change their
>>>>>>>>>>> config options accordingly to use the truetype front found at the google
>>>>>>>>>>> link.
>>>>>>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>>>>>> -Wynand
>>>>>>>>>>> On Thu, May 5, 2011 at 6:21 AM, Ramch April May the R A M months
>>>>>>>>>>> <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Wynand
>>>>>>>>>>>> Cheers for doing the bitmap font.  I am not a techie: based on
>>>>>>>>>>>> my viewing the tga images would I be correct in presuming that folders 1024,
>>>>>>>>>>>> 256 and 512 are different screen sizes?  I am not sure what are awd and pwd
>>>>>>>>>>>> files, are there any install instructions that you could send, for example
>>>>>>>>>>>> for Ubuntu?  Even if I visit my local Linux User Group, they might not have
>>>>>>>>>>>> the immediate understanding.  Thus I would be most grateful if you could
>>>>>>>>>>>> send some information about how it should be done.
>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 8:17 AM, Wynand Marais
>>>>>>>>>>>> <wynand.marais at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>>>> I've attached the generated bitmap fonts.
>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>>>>>>>> -Wynand
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 7:22 AM, Ramch April May the R A M
>>>>>>>>>>>>> months <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Wynand
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Please could you help with converting a Rail Model font
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> (download: http://code.google.com/p/railmodel/downloads/list) into bitmap
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> font for modding an existing linux distribution's console font / developing
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> a linux distribution?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 3:27 AM, Wynand Marais
>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <wynand.marais at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Hi Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I'll do it just this once.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Just out of curiosity, what are you using the bitmap fonts
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> for? (The fonts I'm generating is very specific for use in game engines to
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> render basic ASCII English text, so I really can't guarantee it will work on
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> anything else.)
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Cheers
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Wynand
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> On Tue, May 3, 2011 at 1:51 AM, Ramch April May the R A M
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> months <ramchaprilmay at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I saw your
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> site http://revantech.com/projects/linux-osx-mac-game-engine/bitmap-font-generator/ Bitmap
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Generator
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I need help as I am not a techie.  Could you produce a
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bitmap font if I sent you a  font?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Best,
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Meeku
>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>
>
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