[wxPython-users] What is wx.Font pointSize?

[Christopher Barker]

Robin Dunn wrote:
> Peter Damoc wrote:
>> I'm trying to understand what is pointSize.
>> I mean, I look at an image like this one:
>> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Typography_Line_Terms.svg
>> and I ask myself. "What is pointSize?"  I thought it should be 
>> Ascent+Descent?

Robin answered the question of what is a pointSize vs. pixel size, etc, 
but I think the OP had a slightly different question.

As far as I know, the "Point Size" (or pixel size, for that matter) is a 
nominal dimension. As there are a lot of ways to measure a font -- 
Ascender height, descender height, etc, and each character in the font 
is different, and each font is different. I think you might as well just 
think of it as a nominal size -- like a 2X4 is not 2" by 4", and a 1" 
pipe is not 1", etc.

If I had to guess, I'd say that the "size" of a font probably is about 
the cap height.

What's too bad is that wx does not provide a way to get measurements 
to-from the baseline, or anything like that -- it's been proposed, but I 
don't know if anyone is actually working on it.

-Chris




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