Stjepan Zlodi wrote:
> Victor Nakoryakov <nail-mail@mail.ru> wrote in
> news:e1ld45$24l8$1@digitaldaemon.com: 
> 
>> Hm... I think bigger part of programmers use syntax highlighting in their editors, so numbers and identifiers have different colors. This
>> is sufficient to distinguish problem characters.
>>
> 
> ...or you can use one of these fonts: http://www.lowing.org/fonts/
> 

This thread prompted me to find my ideal mono font, and I eventually landed on Anonymous.

On Fri, 14 Apr 2006 20:45:00 +1000, Bruno Medeiros <brunodomedeirosATgmail@SPAM.com> wrote:

> Derek Parnell wrote:
>> On Fri, 14 Apr 2006 10:41:30 +1000, Georg Wrede <georg@nospam.org> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> Let's put it this way: if a programmer insists on using a font where l, I, 1, O, 0, etc. have the slightest chance of looking like each other, then that programmer is not one we'd want in the D community.
>>>
>>> I promised Derek to not put down a certain programming language, but let's just say, that anyone with a history of C (or C++), can't in their worst nightmares, imagine using a font that doesn't make a difference between 0, O, 1, l, I,,, etc.
>>  ROTFLOL ... I went so far as to create a variety of Courier that changed the lowercase L to look like the lowercase T (t) but without the bar, and put a dot inside the Zero glyph to make it distinguishable. If anyone wants it just let me know.
>>  --Derek Parnell
>> Melbourne, Australia
>
> Huh? Doesn't Courier New already distinguishes between the two?
> ilIL0O -> all look different.

To me, the lowercase L and digit one (l1) were too similar, and the uppercase O and zero were also too similar. I also made the vertical bar glyph more distinct from other things by making a small break in it. I guess is a personal thing.



-- 
Derek Parnell
Melbourne, Australia

John C wrote:
> It's just a shame Consolas isn't widely available yet (and requires ClearType to do it justice - which is fine by me, I can't stand looking at a screen without ClearType turned on anyway).

My eyes start hurting if I look at a screen _with_ ClearType turned on for too long. I suppose it's because it's designed for LCD screens and I've always used a CRT.

John C wrote:
> 
> It's just a shame Consolas isn't widely available yet (and requires ClearType to do it justice - which is fine by me, I can't stand looking at a screen without ClearType turned on anyway).

ClearType looks like garbage on my screens.  I have font smoothing set to "standard" in Windows.

I don't suppose there's a place this font can be downloaded?


Sean

Deewiant wrote:
> John C wrote:
>> It's just a shame Consolas isn't widely available yet (and requires
>> ClearType to do it justice - which is fine by me, I can't stand looking
>> at a screen without ClearType turned on anyway).
> 
> My eyes start hurting if I look at a screen _with_ ClearType turned on for too
> long. I suppose it's because it's designed for LCD screens and I've always used
> a CRT.

It doesn't even look good on all LCDs.  Not sure why, but ClearType looks blurry on mine.


Sean

Stjepan Zlodi wrote:
> Victor Nakoryakov <nail-mail@mail.ru> wrote in
> news:e1ld45$24l8$1@digitaldaemon.com: 
> 
>> Hm... I think bigger part of programmers use syntax highlighting in their editors, so numbers and identifiers have different colors. This
>> is sufficient to distinguish problem characters.
> 
> ...or you can use one of these fonts: http://www.lowing.org/fonts/

Thanks for the link.  It contains the first viable alternatives to courier than I've seen.


Sean

Have you tried using the Anonymous font. It seems to have been specifically designed for programming. It is free and can be downloaded from:

Windows/Linux: http://www.ms-studio.com/FontSales/Resources/AnonymousTT.zip Max: http://www.ms-studio.com/FontSales/Resources/AnonymousTTMac.zip


Derek Parnell wrote:
>> Huh? Doesn't Courier New already distinguishes between the two? ilIL0O -> all look different.
> 
> To me, the lowercase L and digit one (l1) were too similar, and the uppercase O and zero were also too similar. I also made the vertical bar glyph more distinct from other things by making a small break in it. I guess is a personal thing.
> 
> 
> 

Sean Kelly wrote:
> Deewiant wrote:
> 
>> John C wrote:
>>
>>> It's just a shame Consolas isn't widely available yet (and requires
>>> ClearType to do it justice - which is fine by me, I can't stand looking
>>> at a screen without ClearType turned on anyway).
>>
>>
>> My eyes start hurting if I look at a screen _with_ ClearType turned on for too
>> long. I suppose it's because it's designed for LCD screens and I've always used
>> a CRT.
> 
> 
> It doesn't even look good on all LCDs.  Not sure why, but ClearType looks blurry on mine.
> 
> 
> Sean

Have you got the ClearType tuning applet? It installs into the Windows Control Panel and allows you to fine-tune the sub-pixel rendering to make it sharper or softer.
http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

There's also a third-party app that does a simlar job http://www.ioisland.com/cleartweak/

Sean Kelly wrote:
> John C wrote:
> 
>>
>> It's just a shame Consolas isn't widely available yet (and requires ClearType to do it justice - which is fine by me, I can't stand looking at a screen without ClearType turned on anyway).
> 
> 
> ClearType looks like garbage on my screens.  I have font smoothing set to "standard" in Windows.
> 
> I don't suppose there's a place this font can be downloaded?
> 
> 
> Sean

I'm sure googling for "download Consolas" would find a link pretty soon. But it's not been officially released.

John C wrote:
> 
> Have you got the ClearType tuning applet? It installs into the Windows Control Panel and allows you to fine-tune the sub-pixel rendering to make it sharper or softer.
> http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypePowerToy.mspx

Thanks, that did help a bit.  I'm still not entirely happy with it--there's just enough blur around the font edges from anti-aliasing that things look a tad off--but it's certainly better than before.  I think I'll stick to 'standard' for now.  Perhaps my next LCD will fare better.  I do like the way text looks on Macs I've seen.


Sean