# Albatross
Albatross is a command line tool for finding fonts that contain a given
(Unicode) glyph. It relies on [Fontconfig](https://www.fontconfig.org),
a library for configuring and customizing font access.
## Basic use
The tool is a typical command line application, so we need to invoke it by
typing `albatross` in the terminal:
```bash
$ albatross
__ __ __
.---.-.| | |--.---.-.| |_.----.-----.-----.-----.
| _ || | _ | _ || _| _| _ |__ --|__ --|
|___._||__|_____|___._||____|__| |_____|_____|_____|
Usage: albatross [OPTIONS] glyphs...
Options:
-s, --show-styles Show available font styles
-d, --detailed Show a detailed font list
-a, --ansi-level [n|a16|a256|tc]
Set the default ANSI level
-b, --border-style [1|2|3|4|5|6]
Set the border style
-o, --or Look for each glyph separately
-V, --version Show the version and exit
-h, --help Show this message and exit
```
Provided that Albatross is properly available in the underlying operating
system, we will get the help message listing all the available options and
the tool usage.
### Glyphs
Albatross takes a list of glyphs as input. Three formats are supported:
- The glyph itself, e.g, `ß` ([Eszett](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%9F)).
Internally, the tool will convert it to the corresponding Unicode code point.
- The glyph as a Unicode code point in the hexadecimal notation, e.g, `0xDF`.
The `0x` prefix is mandatory. Note that the tool takes the value as case
insensitive, e.g, `0xDF` is equal to `0xdf` (or any case combination thereof).
- The glyph as a Unicode code point using the multiset union notation, e.g,
`U+DF`. The `U+` prefix is mandatory. Be mindful that this notation expects
an uppercase `U`.
When a list of glyphs is provided, the tool will take a conjunctive approach and
look for fonts that contain all elements in such list (default behaviour). Use
the `-o` flag (or `--or` for the long flag) to look for each glyph separately.
For instance:
- Look for fonts that contain both `a` and `b`:
```bash
$ albatross a b
```
- Look for fonts that contain `a` and fonts that contain `b`, separately:
```bash
$ albatross --or a b
```
### Output
Albatross prints the results as a table. The default behaviour is to just
display the font names, e.g,
```bash
Unicode code point DF mapping to ß
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Font name │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font Mono │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
...
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab Medium │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab SemiBold │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
There is a `-s` option (or `--show-styles` for the long option) that includes
the styles available for each font, e.g,
```bash
Unicode code point DF mapping to ß
┌───────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Font name │ Available styles │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font │ Medium │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font Mono │ Medium │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
...
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab Medium │ Medium Italic, Italic, Medium, Regular │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab │ SemiBold, Regular, SemiBold Italic, Italic │
│ SemiBold │ │
└───────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
For even more details, including the font type and paths, there is the `-d`
option (or `--detailed` for the long option), e.g,
```bash
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ 3270Medium Nerd Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /home/paulo/.local/share/fonts/NerdFonts/3270-Medium Nerd Font │
│ │ Complete.otf │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ 3270Medium Nerd Font Mono │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /home/paulo/.local/share/fonts/NerdFonts/3270-Medium Nerd Font │
│ │ Complete Mono.otf │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
...
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab Medium │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-MediumItalic.otf │
│ │ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-Medium.otf │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab SemiBold │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-SemiBold.otf │
│ │ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-SemiBoldItalic.… │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
For more verbosity, `--detailed` can be combined with `--show-styles` to
include all font details, e.g,
```bash
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ 3270Medium Nerd Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /home/paulo/.local/share/fonts/NerdFonts/3270-Medium Nerd Font │
│ │ Complete.otf │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Styles │ Medium │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ 3270Medium Nerd Font Mono │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /home/paulo/.local/share/fonts/NerdFonts/3270-Medium Nerd Font │
│ │ Complete Mono.otf │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Styles │ Medium │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
...
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab Medium │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-MediumItalic.otf │
│ │ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-Medium.otf │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Styles │ Medium Italic, Italic, Medium, Regular │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Unicode code point DF, font details, mapping to ß
┌──────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Name │ Zilla Slab,Zilla Slab SemiBold │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Type │ OpenType Font │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Files │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-SemiBold.otf │
│ │ ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ │ /usr/share/fonts/mozilla-zilla-slab/ZillaSlab-SemiBoldItalic.… │
├──────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Styles │ SemiBold, Regular, SemiBold Italic, Italic │
└──────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```
Since the results can span several rows (the more common the glyph, the more
fonts will contain it), we strongly recommend using a pipeline and pass the
results to a terminal pager, e.g, the `less` utility:
```
$ albatross ß | less
```
### Coloured output
Albatross supports terminal colours by including the `-a` option (or
`--ansi-level` for the long option) followed by the corresponding colour
level. The following levels are available:
| Level | Description |
|--------|-----------------------------|
| `n` | No colours at all (default) |
| `a16` | ANSI 16 colours |
| `a256` | ANSI 256 colours |
| `tc` | Support for true colours |
Note that colours might mess the output when passed to a terminal pager. You
might need to either adjust the terminal pager accordingly (e.g, `less -r`
makes control characters to be displayed) or disable colours altogether
(which is the default behaviour).
### Table styles
Albatross provides 6 table styles. Include the `-b` option (or `--border-style`
for the long option) followed by the corresponding border style. The following
styles are available:
- Style 1:
```
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| Font name | Available styles |
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
| 3270Medium Nerd Font | Medium |
+-------------------------------+-----------------------------------------+
...
```
- Style 2:
```
╭─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────╮
│ Font name │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
...
```
- Style 3:
```
Font name Available styles
3270Medium Nerd Font Medium
...
```
- Style 4:
```
╔═══════════════════════════════╦═════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Font name ║ Available styles ║
╠═══════════════════════════════╬═════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ 3270Medium Nerd Font ║ Medium ║
╠═══════════════════════════════╬═════════════════════════════════════════╣
...
```
- Style 5:
```
┌───────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Font name │ Available styles │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 3270Medium Nerd Font │ Medium │
├───────────────────────────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────┤
...
```
- Style 6:
```
┏━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┳━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┓
┃ Font name ┃ Available styles ┃
┣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┫
┃ 3270Medium Nerd Font ┃ Medium ┃
┣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━╋━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━┫
...
```
These are the keys to be used as option values:
| Key | Description |
|-----|-----------------------------------|
| `1` | Style 1 (ASCII) |
| `2` | Style 2 (rounded corners) |
| `3` | Style 3 (blank) |
| `4` | Style 4 (double lines) |
| `5` | Style 5 (square corners, default) |
| `6` | Style 6 (heavy lines) |
## License
This application is licensed under the
[New BSD License](https://opensource.org/licenses/BSD-3-Clause). Please note
that the New BSD License has been verified as a GPL-compatible free software
license by the [Free Software Foundation](http://www.fsf.org/), and has been
vetted as an open source license by the
[Open Source Initiative](http://www.opensource.org/).
## The team
Albatross is brought to you by the Island of TeX. If you want to support TeX
development by a donation, the best way to do this is donating to the
[TeX Users Group](https://www.tug.org/donate.html).
Generated by dwww version 1.15 on Sat May 18 08:41:57 CEST 2024.