News: 2006 - 2005
December 14, 2006:
Work continues on the design review, and we have made some progress in resolving the font packaging issues. We have consulted with Microsoft, Mozilla.org (Firefox), Adobe, and Design Science, and it appears that the best compromise solution will increase the number of fonts to about 42. Each font will have only one Unicode value for each glyph in the font. This approach is still being refined, and further information will be provided when the final decision is made.
We still hope to issue the beta font set by the end of January, but final resolution of these packaging issues could cause a slip into February 2007.
December 4, 2006:
All STIX glyphs have been entered into the beta test OpenType fonts. A design review is now underway to ensure that similar shaped glyphs delivered at different times during the project are design-compatible. During the packaging phase, we have discovered some difficulties with the intended packaging. These problems will increase the number of fonts for the project from the planned eight to a number closer to 50. The details are still being worked out, and the final decision will be posted to this website as soon as it is made.
It is now clear that there will be a further delay in the timetable for beta release. We are now hoping for a January 2007 release. We regret this additional delay, but hopefully the changes being made now will lead to a smoother beta test period with less problems identified at that stage.
November 7, 2006:
The STIX Fonts beta test configuration is essentially complete, with nearly 7,900 glyphs having been configured. A few glyphs that require more research will probably be added over the next few weeks. This table shows the full glyph assignments. We expect the beta version to be released by early December, after we complete a final design review to confirm that deliveries from different font designers received throughout the life of the project are totally consistent in metrics and appearance.
The STIX Fonts license has also been released. This license has been revised in light of comments received on this website in response to the posting of the original license draft. The new license can be viewed here.
October 18, 2006:
More than 7,300 glyphs have been configured for the STIX Fonts OpenType beta test. We expect to complete the full configuration this week. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (rows marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked "Complete"). The final text of the STIX Fonts license should also be available by the end of this week.
October 2, 2006:
More than 6,200 glyphs have been configured for the beta test, covering all Plane 0 ranges and many Mathematical Symbols sub-ranges from Plane 1. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (rows marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked "Complete"). The final draft of the STIX Fonts license should be available in the second week of October.
September 7, 2006:
As of 7 September more than 5,510 glyphs have been configured for the beta test, covering ranges from u0 0020 - u0 27FF. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (rows marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked "Complete"). A few previously released listings of included code points and glyph styles have been updated (V0.2, V0.3, or V0.4), and additional ranges are being released practically on a daily basis. The configuration page shows all code points in each glyph style or size that are included in the first release of the STIX Fonts. This page is being expanded as additional code point ranges are configured.
We have (reluctantly) concluded that the start of the beta test should be delayed until we can complete a design review to ensure consistency of the design of similar characters. The new anticipated date for the beta test to begin is late October. We regret this delay, but feel that it is necessary and will reduce the number of changes that need to be made after the beta period concludes and prior to the first production release, which is still scheduled to occur before the end of December 2006.
In other news, we are negotiating with a consultant to do the TeX packaging of the fonts. There will be a beta test of the TeX package, but that release will follow the OpenType beta test by at least 60 days. (Additional time will be required to re-package the fonts as Type1 and to perform the necessary changes to support TeX. Finally, we expect to release the proposed final text of the user license agreement by the end of September.
August 29, 2006:
Nearly 4,500 glyphs have been configured for the beta test, covering ranges from u0 0020 – u0 22FF. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (rows marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked “Complete”). A few previously released listings of included code points and glyph styles have been updated (V0.2 or V0.3), and additional ranges are being released practically on a daily basis. The configuration page shows all code points in each glyph style or size that are included in the first release of the STIX Fonts. This page is being expanded as additional code point ranges are configured.
August 4, 2006:
2,945 glyphs have been configured as of today, representing Unicode code points from u0 0000 - u0 04FF. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (rows marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked "Complete"). For the first time, we are releasing the listing of included code points and glyph styles. The configuration page shows all code points in each glyph style or size that are included in the first release of the STIX Fonts. This page will be expanded as additional code point ranges are configured.
July 19, 2006:
Even as the final delivery of glyphs is still under review, the STIX Fonts project team has begun to build the beta test fontset. Nearly 2,000 glyphs have already been assigned to the beta fonts. This table shows exactly which ranges have been assigned (columns marked "Final") and which ranges remain to be assigned (rows marked "Complete"). Two new columns are present in this table. The column RX is a count of extensible or oversize glyphs in RU style, and the column BX is a count of extensible or oversize glyphs in BU style. Tables providing each Unicode value and each font style to be included in the beta package will be posted to this web site as they are completed. The first set of tables will be posted next week (the week of 24 July).
July 12, 2006:
On 10 July, the STI Pub group received the final delivery of requested glyphs for the STIX Fonts Project. This final set is being reviewed by the STI Pub Technical Review Committee, and packaging instructions for the beta test of the fonts are being prepared. Tables of STIX glyphs will begin to appear on this website within the next few weeks, and the beta font set will begin to be constructed.
June 6, 2006:
Working with MicroPress, the STIX Fonts Project has determined that an additional 127 glyphs are required to complete the design phase. We expect to receive the final group before the end of June. Font packaging work can begin sooner, as many Unicode blocks have now been completed. We are currently awaiting final TeX names for new characters before starting to create configuration tables. A revised character table summary is available here showing exactly which ranges are complete and which additional glyphs are required to complete all ranges.
At the STI Pub business group meeting in April, the schedule for completion of the STIX Fonts project was reviewed. After reviewing the tasks required for completion of the project, September was established as a revised target for the beta test. The final production release will likely occur in December, but the TeX package may not be ready until January 2007. Revised terms for the font license were discussed, and the new license text should be made available on the website by the end of June.
April 19, 2006:
After careful analysis of the latest delivery from MicroPress, the STIX Fonts Project has determined the final glyph count to be included in the final release. We have also determined that an additional 152 glyphs are required to complete the design phase. We expect to receive the final group before the end of May, but font packaging work can begin much sooner, as many Unicode blocks have now been completed. The revised character table summary is available here showing exactly which ranges are complete and which additional glyphs are required to complete all ranges.
March 27, 2006:
We have received the final full delivery of glyphs for the STIX Fonts project (a few more glyphs may be needed, but not enough to constitute another full "phase"). Two tasks are currently in progress - a final design review, comparing delivered glyphs to make sure that the "family" of glyphs delivered over 3 1/2 years by multiple designers all work together and have a consistent "look" and the creation of configuration tables for each Unicode range that will describe how the STIX Fonts package will be delivered. We expect these two tasks to be complete by the end of April. A beta test release of the full fonts will occur as soon as the packaging is complete. It appears that the beta will not be available for release until the end of June. Assuming a successful beta, with only minor changes necessary before the final release, we expect the STIX Fonts project to be complete by the end of the summer.
February 2, 2006:
A careful review of all submitted characters and remaining requests for glyph designs has resulted in revisions to the Progress @ a Glance chart on the left side of this page. Changes occurred to the total STIX Glyph count due to supply of some additional, recently added Unicode values from the ranges being included in STIX. An updated character table summary is available here.
Work is nearly completed on a configuration table application that will next be populated with information about the location of each glyph within the STIX Fonts font set. This work has led to some changes in the packaging of the fonts. Further details are available in the list of final project completion steps. We should begin to populate the configuration table within the next two weeks. It will be created by Unicode range. As each range is completed, the data will be posed to this website, allowing software designers to begin to configure their applications in advance of the beta release, which is still planned for April. A description of the columns to be included in this table is available.
January 9, 2006:
Today, an additional 48 new glyphs have been received from our font designer, MicroPress, Inc. A newly updated character table, showing the additions from the last two deliveries, will be released next week. We are also in the final stage of testing a web application that will be used to populate the Configuration Table, which will be used as directions to our font packaging subcontractors (one for OpenType, one for Type1/TeX). As soon as the web application is fully tested, we will begin to populate the configuration table for all Unicode ranges that are complete. As ranges are fully entered and tested, we will post them to this website under: Info for SW Developers. Work is progressing on a revised software license, which will be made available for review just as soon as our attorney completes the revisions.
December 19, 2005:
The STI Pub Group apologizes for the long delay in updating this web site. Be assured, however, that work has continued over the past few months. Many design issues have been resolved, and the final 400 glyphs should be delivered by the end of February 2006, at the latest. A new configuration table, which will map the delivered glyphs to their positions in the final font set, is being created and data entry to build the fonts will begin early in 2005.
September 30, 2005:
The STI Pub steering group met today at IEEE Headquarters in New York. The group reviewed progress toward completing the design phase and reluctantly agreed that a postponement of the beta test is required. Final deliveries cannot occur sooner than the end of the year, and packaging for the beta test will require an additional 60 - 90 days. Accordingly, the beta test date has been revised to March 2006.
The STI Pub group also reviewed comments posted regarding the terms of the draft STIX Fonts license and agreed to several changes to the license text. A new version will be posted after legal review, and an FAQ that responds to the comments will be made available at the same time.
September 22, 2005:
During the review of the latest character submission, the STIX Fonts Technical Review Committee identified an additional 31 glyphs that are required to complete the project. A request for the additional glyphs has been forwarded to the font designer. The STI Pub steering group will meet next week (29 September) to review progress. A report on the decisions taken will be posted to this website after the meeting.
September 9, 2005:
The draft user license has resulted in many useful comments from interested parties. The STI Pub group is giving these comments careful consideration and will respond to everyone who submitted comments once potential changes have been considered and implemented.
August 29, 2005:
The draft user license is now available for review and comment. The table of included characters has also been updated with the results of the latest submission.
August 23, 2005:
Last week, the project received an additional 199 Glyphs from the font designer for the project, MicroPress, Inc. These glyphs are being processed, and the table of characters will be updated with the results later this week. Because the final few glyph deliveries contain sets of a few characters from many different Unicode ranges, they are taking longer to complete. Accordingly, we now anticipate that the Beta Test release will not occur until the end of October 2005. We still hope to produce a final general release before the end of 2005. Another achievement in the past week has been the identification of a consultant to do the beta and final release packaging of the OpenType fonts and another consultant to do the final TeX work for the font set. This work will begin in September.
July 5, 2005
The STIX Fonts Project took delivery of an additional 216 glyphs from MicroPress, the font designer for the project. Also completed during the past week was the analysis of glyphs provided under license from MicroPress ("pre-existing glyphs). This analysis added 35 glyphs to the project count. All of these updates are reflected in the "At a Glance" chart and the newly updated table.
Slight corrections have been made to the table of included characters. Most of these changes relate to the Private Use Area ranges, where most have been consolidated or moved to newly assigned Unicode ranges.
A final, comprehensive review of all glyphs to be included in the STIX Fonts has been completed, and the total number of glyphs has been updated to 7,967 During this review an additional 398 glyphs were identified as being required, and the project’s font designer, MicroPress, Inc., has begun work on supplying them. The first of fourth final monthly deliveries will be received later in June. All delivered glyphs are now reported in this updated table. NOTE: All ranges starting with E200 and above are yet to be revised and consolidated into consecutive ranges within the Unicode Private Use Area. During this consolidation, many of these glyphs – those which have been added to the Unicode standard during this project – will be moved to defined Unicode ranges from Plane 0 or Plane 1.
At a teleconference of the STIX Fonts Technical Review Committee on 26 May, it was determined that the beta release would need to be delayed until September 2005. This delay is required to complete all of the work necessary to release the beta test, but the delay will also allow the beta version to contain all of the glyphs planned for final release.
Target Release Date Established for the STIX Fonts Project
AIP White Paper on STIX Fonts (PDF - 220KB)
