Re: font specification in CSS1

Thomas Reardon wrote:
> There are plenty of example of italic being used with sans serif
fonts
> (verdana, arial, lucida, etc)

and some examples of obliqued serif fonts (Adobe's ITC Lubalin Graph,
Adobe's Glypha...).

An oblique font is typically a computer-slanted version of the roman
form. A true italic has been redesigned to look better at a slant.
Sans-serif fonts generally look OK obliqued. For most serif fonts the
italics are completely redesigned, script-like letterforms.

Some fonts are oblique from one company and italic from another.

Given the general nature of font specification in CSS1, 'oblique'
seems unnecessarily specific. It is very unlikely for someone to have
two fonts on their system with the same weight and family name, one
oblique and one italic. If a UA can't find 'italic,' look for
'oblique' or, as in a few fonts, 'slanted.'

David Perrell

PS: Sorry about the duplicate message. My mail server--on the verge
of a complete failure--reported it 'unsent' and my mail program left
it in the outbox.

Received on Friday, 9 August 1996 12:53:55 UTC