Re: Should we add variable font instancing to the patch/subset protocol

I think this is a good idea as well—though Chris raises an important point about an axis or range dropped then being added on a subsequent page likely becoming an issue. It would be good to look at what that would save in time/data versus the cost (how complex is this to do: does it then require much more complexity on the part of the server and more processing power on the client to do). I think it’s worth it to experiment and see if the net result is worth the effort (axis dropping/reinstatement being the bigger issue I’d imaging)

Unfortunately I won’t be able to make the call: I’ve got a conflict for a few more weeks during this time slot, but only for the next month or so.

Jason


> On Mar 30, 2021, at 4:30 AM, Bianca Berning <bianca.berning@daltonmaag.com> wrote:
> 
> Yes, please! I’d be very keen to have this supported too, also axis subsetting as Chris suggested.
> 
> Talk to you later!
> Bianca
> 
> On Tue, 30 Mar 2021 at 03:58, Chris Lilley <chris@w3.org <mailto:chris@w3.org>> wrote:
> 
> On 2021-03-29 20:00, Garret Rieger wrote:
> > In the current proposal for patch subset the client specifies the 
> > desired subset using only the desired unicode codepoints. However, for 
> > variable fonts it's also potentially useful if the client is able to 
> > specify the specific portion of the variable design space that is 
> > needed. This would allow the server to optionally narrow down the 
> > design space of the generated subset to further reduce the bytes to 
> > transfer.
> 
> I agree and think this is likely to offer significant saving. We should 
> measure, of course, but it looks like the number of axes is going up in 
> VF over time, so axis dropping and axis subsetting are likely to help 
> significantly.
> 
> It does mean though that in addition to requesting more glyphs in 
> response to subsequent page loads, we might need to add back axes which 
> were dropped but are now needed.
> 
> 
> -- 
> Chris Lilley
> @svgeesus
> Technical Director @ W3C
> W3C Strategy Team, Core Web Design
> W3C Architecture & Technology Team, Core Web & Media
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -- 
> Bianca Berning
> Creative Director
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