Portable Compiled Format
Encyclopedia
Portable Compiled Format (PCF) is a bitmap font format used by Xserver in its core font system, and have been used for decades. PCF fonts are usually installed, by default, on most Unix
based operating systems, and are used in terminals such as xterm
. PCF fonts replaced BDF
due to a slight efficiency increase, however most applications have moved on to scalable fonts.
Unix
Unix is a multitasking, multi-user computer operating system originally developed in 1969 by a group of AT&T employees at Bell Labs, including Ken Thompson, Dennis Ritchie, Brian Kernighan, Douglas McIlroy, and Joe Ossanna...
based operating systems, and are used in terminals such as xterm
Xterm
In computing, xterm is the standard terminal emulator for the X Window System. A user can have many different invocations of xterm running at once on the same display, each of which provides independent input/output for the process running in it .xterm originated prior to the X Window System...
. PCF fonts replaced BDF
Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format
The Glyph Bitmap Distribution Format by Adobe is a file format for storing bitmap fonts. The content is presented as a text file that is intended to be human and computer readable. BDF is typically used in Unix environments.-Overview:...
due to a slight efficiency increase, however most applications have moved on to scalable fonts.