[TOOLS-DEVELOPMENT] DRAFT: RFI for fonts

["Heather Flanagan (RFC Series Editor)" <[e-mail]>]

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Hello all,

I'm drafting an RFI to collect information on fonts.  Below is my first
cut.  Questions for this group: what's missing?  Should I include any
information on things I already know about (in particular, Google's Noto
font library)?

I don't know if this will turn into an RFP or something else; that's why
I'm doing an RFI.

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Embedded Fonts for the PDF Publication Format for RFCs

Request for Information

 

Description:

In 2013, the RFC Series Editor announced to the IETF community the
intent to change the format for RFCs from a single, plain-text,
ASCII-only format to a format based on a canonical XML file with
multiple publication formats.  One of those publication formats will be
PDF/A-3 (see <draft-hansen-rfc-use-of-pdf).

 

One of the requirements for the PDF/A-3 format is that the font
information for any and all fonts used for that document be embedded
within the file.  The purpose here is to make the file as self-contained
and stable as possible.    Requirements for the fonts themselves include:

 

·      Serif and sans-serif fonts should be available (to meet the
requirement in <draft-hansen-rfc-use-of-pdf> for main text and headings).

·      A fixed-width font must be available for code, BNF, and any other
text that requires such a font as an aid in insuring alignment.     

·      Wide support for Unicode (which may require multiple fonts) is
necessary to support the change that allows non-ASCII characters in
RFCs, such as person names in native languages.

·      Liberal or low-cost license terms.

 

 

It is unlikely that license-free or low-cost fonts exist to cover all
these requirements.   This RFI is seeking information on what is
available, where gaps exist such that a font might need to be acquired
with a for-fee license, and where a font might need to be designed.

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