BDF File Documentation

Overview

Feature Value
File Format Bitmap Distribution Format (BDF)
MIME Type text/x-bdf
File Extension .bdf
Developed by Adobe Systems
Purpose Store bitmap fonts for use in X Window System
Character Encoding ASCII text for compatibility
Scalability Non-scalable, pixel-based format
Font Metrics Included Yes (includes width, height, x/y-offsets, etc.)
Contains Bitmap Data Yes
Supports Font Properties Yes (e.g., font name, size, weight)
Color Support Monochrome (1-bit depth)
Versioning Includes a "version" keyword for format versions
Header Section Defined by 'STARTFONT' keyword
Characters Section Defined by 'CHARS' keyword and character count
Bitmap Data Section Defined by 'BITMAP' keyword followed by hex data
Comments Supported via 'COMMENT' keyword
End of File Defined by 'ENDFONT' keyword
Editable with Text Editor Yes, due to ASCII format
Multi-page Support No, designed for individual font glyphs
Usage Primarily used in Unix/Linux environments
Compression Not inherently supported, requires external tools