In this section we will build on what we learned about bitmaps to implement fonts. Fonts are very important to any graphics application. Labels and menu items must be readable, and easy on the eye. They must also be compact enough that they do not occupy too much valuable screen real estate.

Font design is as art form, and it would be unreasonable to expect a programmer to design an entire alphabet for us in his software. However the needs of many low-resolution embedded systems can easily be met by many of the free fonts available. The object of this section is to understand the information that a font contains well enough that a font can be converted into a form that your software can render.