= TrueType
{c}
<TrueType> is a <computer font> technology whose <glyph> outlines use quadratic <Bézier curves> and straight segments. The stored coordinates describe a scalable design in font units. Rendering scales that geometry to the requested size and applies <rasterization> to obtain <pixels>.
At small display sizes, geometrically accurate scaling can place important strokes between <pixels>. <Font hinting> supplies instructions that adjust the scaled outline relative to the output grid, helping preserve recognizable strokes and spacing. A small capital letter can therefore require more than shrinking a large image: the useful result depends on the relation between its geometry and the <pixel> grid.<TrueType Fundamentals by Microsoft>[Outlines; Font units and scaling; Instructing outlines; Scan conversion]{ref}
<TrueType> outlines can be stored in an <OpenType> <computer font>. The outline technology and the larger table-based file format describe different layers of the same rendering system.
Back to article page
