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Add '--expand-features-to-instances' arg to fontmake UFO generation #985

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Add '--expand-features-to-instances' arg to fontmake UFO generation #985

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3c98f78
Add '--expand-features-to-instances' arg to fontmake UFO generation
arrowtype Jun 11, 2024
b56edad
remove --expand-features-to-instances from static build args, as this…
arrowtype Oct 3, 2024
532a8b2
Pass bool of expandFeaturesToInstances from config to instantiateUfo …
arrowtype Oct 3, 2024
cc8617e
format document
arrowtype Oct 4, 2024
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2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions Lib/gftools/builder/operations/instantiateUfo.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -59,6 +59,8 @@ def targets(self):
def variables(self):
vars = super().variables
vars["args"] += " --ufo-structure=json "
if self.original["expandFeaturesToInstances"]:
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@m4rc1e m4rc1e Nov 7, 2024 •
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Any reason why you're using self.original here? It is breaking the tests since expandFeaturesToInstances isn't in self.original. If I change it to vars it seems to be working but I could be wrong.

Personally, I would use a dict's get method if I cannot guarantee that a key exists. It also allows you to set a value incase it doesn't exist so in your case self.original.get("expandFeaturesToInstances", False) will return False if the key doesn't exist, or it will simply return the value if it does.

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@arrowtype arrowtype Nov 7, 2024

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First, thank you for that tip on .get() – that is news to me, but really helpful to learn!

Any reason why you're using self.original here?

As far as I can remember, I think I just tried to use a similar format as what is a few lines below:

gftools/Lib/gftools/builder/operations/instantiateUfo.py

Line 69 in cc8617e

if self.original.get("glyphData") is not None:

...and when it seemed to work, I thought I had solved it.

My impression was that self.original is the GOOGLEFONTS_SCHEMA, but I now realize that, even if that is true, there are other possible schemas.

vars["args"] += " --expand-features-to-instances "
if self.first_source.is_glyphs:
vars["args"] += f"--instance-dir {escape_path(str(self.instance_dir))}"
else:
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6 changes: 4 additions & 2 deletions Lib/gftools/builder/recipeproviders/googlefonts.py
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Expand Up @@ -57,6 +57,7 @@
"checkCompatibility": True,
"overlaps": "booleanOperations",
"splitItalic": True,
"expandFeaturesToInstances": True,
}


Expand Down Expand Up @@ -193,8 +194,6 @@ def fontmake_args(self, source, variable=False):
args += " --keep-direction"
if self.config.get("removeOutlineOverlaps") is False:
args += " --keep-overlaps"
if self.config.get("expandFeaturesToInstances"):
args += " --expand-features-to-instances"
Comment on lines -223 to -224
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@m4rc1e m4rc1e Nov 7, 2024

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Are we 100% sure that this doesn't work? If I was implementing such a feature then I'd simply chuck it here.

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@arrowtype arrowtype Nov 7, 2024

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This is the approach in the release as of when I made the PR, right? If so, then yes, I’m 100% sure it wasn’t working. I can test it again, though, if it seems likely that it may have changed since then.

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@simoncozens simoncozens Nov 8, 2024

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That line feels right - I think I'd like to understand why it's not working before trying something else, because understanding why not might lead us to the right answer.

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@arrowtype arrowtype Dec 4, 2025

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Okay, returning later because the issue persists, and I’ve been working around it a lot, recently. To respond to the comments above:

I think I'd like to understand why it's not working

The reason it is currently not working is that the FontMake arg --expand-features-to-instances is being used too late in the build process.

It is being used during the final font binary compilation, but it needs to be used during the UFO instantiation process, as this PR makes happen.

The arg is used by FontMake to get feature includes, and expand them into instance UFOs. That way, those instance UFOs can be built into final fonts. If the arg is used later, during the TTF generation process, the feature include statements will no longer have the correct relative path, so they will be unusable. And now, FontMake will now throw the error fontmake: error: "--expand-features-to-instances" option invalid for UFO source.

if self.config.get("extraFontmakeArgs") is not None:
args += " " + str(self.config["extraFontmakeArgs"])
if variable:
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -340,6 +339,9 @@ def build_a_static(self, source: File, instance: InstanceDescriptor, output):
"operation": "instantiateUfo",
"instance_name": instancename,
"glyphData": self.config.get("glyphData"),
"expandFeaturesToInstances": self.config.get(
"expandFeaturesToInstances"
),
}
)
steps += (
Expand Down