I don't think font geometries are copyrightable, only names.
In any case, the IBM PC fonts are horrendous. They should have gone with the sans-serif they used in their mainframe terminals.
In any case, the IBM PC fonts are horrendous. They should have gone with the sans-serif they used in their mainframe terminals.
Are you talking about AFP fonts[1]? In that case Sonoran Sans Serif[2]? Then you should probably be happy with Arial[3]. Fun story[4].
Or are you talking about a 3270 font? Then you should have a look at 3270font[5]
[1] https://www-01.ibm.com/servers/resourcelink/svc00100.nsf/pag...
[2] https://www-01.ibm.com/common/ssi/cgi-bin/ssialias?subtype=c...
[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arial
[4] http://idsgn.org/posts/sonoran-the-hidden-truths/
[5] https://github.com/rbanffy/3270font
...and then I saw the username i was responding to. I'll post anyway if you do not want to toot your own horn. Nice work!
BTW, that IBM bundles Arial with their mainframes is outrageous. If you are paying more than a million dollars for a machine, you should be getting proper Helvetica.
Looking at the actual IBM_VGA_8x8.bin file: the file size is 1024 bytes (8192 bits). I calculated the entropy of the data to be only 638 bits of information.
MATLAB code:
fid = fopen('IBM_PC_BIOS_1981-04-24_HALF_8x8.bin','r');
ibmVga = fread(fid);
fclose(fid);
p = histogram(double(ibmVga),255);
E = -sum(log2(p.Values(p.Values > 0)).*log2(p.Values(p.Values > 0)));Word size matters when calculating entropy. Calculating entropy on this file using 2 to 64 bits nets a minimum information of 860 bits using a 64 bit word size. Moving past a 64 bit word size requires rethinking some things. MATLAB doesn't have great support for data sizes greater than 64 bits (and I'm certain the performance impact would be great).
words = double(unique(X))';
binEdges = [words-0.5; words+0.5];
binEdges = unique(binEdges(:));
P = histcounts(X, binEdges) / M;
P(P == 0) = [];
M = numel(X);
H = -sum(P .* log(P) ./ log(max([nBits, 2]))) / nBits * log2(max([nBits, 2]));
E = H * M * nBits;However I don't think a 1664 bits is an accurate count. You must subtract the information provided by knowing it represents the alphabet, which constrains the number of possibilities to only a few choices per letter - say 2 or 3 bits at most. So a 64-character alphabet is right on the edge of "reasonably nontrivial", due entirely down to the combinatorial complexity of choosing which glyph to use in each case. A single glyph should not be copyrightable.
re: copyright-ability of fonts. That's a muddy area. The visual representation of the font cannot be copyrighted. I can make a font that looks like yours with no copyright concern. If I copy the code that creates the visual representation (i.e. the binary definition of the font) that may be a concern. That could be considered program code (particularly for vector fonts, but I could see an attorney trying to argue that for bitmaps, similar to assets for a game), which is protected by copyright.