Getting started

Load a font once, then use the returned Font object for metadata and glyph queries.

<?php
use Alto\Font\Font;

$font = Font::fromFile(__DIR__.'/fonts/Inter-Regular.ttf');
$face = $font->face();
$descriptor = $font->getDescriptor();

printf(
    "%s %s, %d units per em\n",
    $descriptor->family,
    $descriptor->subfamily,
    $face->unitsPerEm,
);

Inspect a character

getMetrics() is the shortest route when you have exactly one character:

<?php
$metrics = $font->getMetrics('A');

echo $metrics->advanceWidth;
echo $metrics->leftSideBearing;

Metrics use the font's design units. Divide by unitsPerEm and multiply by your target font size when converting them to another coordinate system.

To inspect the outline, resolve the Unicode code point first:

<?php
$glyphId = $font->glyphIdForCodepoint(ord('A'));

if (null === $glyphId) {
    throw new RuntimeException('The font does not contain A.');
}

$outline = $font->glyphOutline($glyphId);

foreach ($outline->contours as $contour) {
    foreach ($contour->commands as $command) {
        printf("%s %s\n", $command->type, implode(' ', $command->coordinates));
    }
}

The outline contains generic move, line, quadratic-curve, and close commands. It is geometry, not an SVG or another rendered format.

Continue with Metadata, Glyphs, or Discovery, depending on the job your application performs.