[Devel] C++ API for FreeType

[Graham Asher]

I somehow missed an earlier comment:

>  A - is there enough interest in a C++ version of the library
>      (and more especially a C++ native API)
>
>  B - would doing so drastically reduce our development time
>      (man-years ??)

I am very much in favour of a C++ version. I won't argue in detail for that
now - I have done so on previous occasions - except to say that I have
successfully re-implemented certain important parts of FreeType in C++,
including the outline structure (in my version, a class) and both the
monochrome and anti-aliasing rasterizing engines.

I converted FreeType code to C++ *very* conservatively, retaining nearly
every line of the original code unchanged, partly because I didn't
understand some aspects of the logic I was converting, but was able to
create a system - as far as it went - that was more usable and easier to
maintain than the original, mainly because of basic C++ facilities like
constructors and private data members, although there are notational
advantages as well, like being able to declare variables at their first
point of use.

So I am reasonably well placed to comment on API design and conversion to
C++, if my help is wanted.

Graham Asher